The effect of delphinidin on the mechanical properties of keratinocytes exposed to UVB radiation

•Using the AFM technique the stiffness of the HaCaT cells was measured•100 mJ/cm2 dose of UVB caused a significant decrease in the cell stiffness•UVB-mediated alteration of the cell stiffness was restored when the cells were post-treated with delphindin

The usage of active compounds of dietary phytochemicals in prevention of UV-induced skin diseases is increasingly gaining attention in the development of skin care products. The purpose of this study was to measure the influence of delphinidin (as a botanical agent) on the cell mechanical properties evaluated by the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique in the immortalized human keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) exposed to UVB radiation.The cells were treated with various doses of UVB radiation with and without pre and post-treatment with selected concentrations of delphinidin. The measurements of the elastic properties revealed that the exposure of HaCaT cells to high dose of the UVB radiation (100 mJ/cm2) caused a decrease in the cell elastic modulus. It was accompanied by the decrease of metabolic activity, rearrangement of actin cytoskeleton and disappearance of the cell repair marker 53BP1. Both pre-treatment and post-treatment with delphinidin at non-cytotoxic concentrations (5 or 10 μM), restored the elastic modulus of irradiated keratinocytes. A direct AFM analysis showed that the UVB-mediated decrease of the cell stiffness was restored more effectively when cells were treated with delphinidin after the UVB irradiation. The results demonstrate the regenerative effect of delphinidin on the mechanical properties of cells exposed to UVB radiation (100 mJ/cm2), which may be due to antioxidant and inhibitory effect on matrix metalloproteinases activation.