The present invention relates to a method for diagnosing a skin displaying signs of dryness, based on the measurement of the level of expression of the gene encoding LCN1. The present invention also relates to a method for the cosmetic treatment of skin. The present invention also relates to a method for identifying a compound suitable for reducing and/or slowing the progression of the signs of dryness of a skin, as well as a kit.

A method of generating a hyperpigmentation condition gene expression signature for use in identifying connections between perturbagens and genes associated with a skin pigmentation condition. The method includes providing a gene expression profile for a reference sample of human skin cells not affected with a pigmentation condition; generating a gene expression profile for a sample of human skin cells from a subject exhibiting the hyperpigmentation condition; comparing the expression profiles to determine a gene expression signature that includes a set of differentially expressed genes; assigning an identifier to each gene constituting the gene expression signature and ordering the identifiers according to the direction of differential expression to create one or more gene expression signature lists; and storing the one or more gene expression signature lists on at least one computer readable medium.

The purpose of the present invention is to develop a method for screening drugs having the effect of increasing skin barrier function in in vitro studies and to evaluate barrier function in the skin. Candidate drugs can be screened by using the activity and/or expression level of serine racemase as an indicator.

A virus infection model which overcomes the drawbacks of conventional hepatitis virus infection models is provided.

A method for constructing a virus infection model capable of recapitulating a viral life cycle, comprising infecting a cell condensate formed by culturing a tissue or organ cell in vitro with a virus. A virus infection model capable of recapitulating a viral life cycle, comprising a virus-infected cell condensate, wherein the cell condensate is formed by culturing a tissue or organ cell in vitro. A method of screening for substances with antiviral activity, comprising using the virus infection model.

A method of formulating a skin-lightening composition by identifying actives with a data architecture and incorporating the actives into a skin care composition. The data architecture can be used to identify connections between perturbagens and genes associated with skin tone. A gene expression profile for a control human cell is compared to the gene expression profile a cell exposed to perturbagen to identify the genes which are differentially expressed. The differentially expressed genes are analyzed and arranged into an ordered list of identifiers, which along with other instances create a data architecture.

Provided is a method capable of efficiently preparing a photoaged cell. Also provided is a novel cell marker that can be used for detection, quantification, or sorting out of a photoaged cell. The present disclosure includes a method for preparing a photoaged cell, including the step of: irradiating a cell with light having an emission peak within a wavelength range of 300 to 315 nm, and a method for detecting or quantifying a photoaged cell, including the step of: detecting or quantifying expression of at least one gene selected from the group consisting of GPR17, CD34, GABRR1, OR2AG2, CMKLR1, CDH19, CD93, AVPR2, CCR7, and OXGR1 in a cell.

The invention relates to biomarkers in children's skin, in particular in the skin of infants, the expression of which changes when the skin is dry. Such markers are particularly advantageous in that they allow the skin's response to dehydration to be monitored. The inventors have developed methods for evaluating the in vitro efficacy of formulations in preventing the effects of dehydration on children's skin, using a skin model specifically capable of reproducing the characteristics of children's skin.

An apoptosis regulatory gene is detected in an irradiated-thymic lymphoma cell by a method for detecting such an apoptosis regulatory gene in a low-dose-rate and low-level-irradiated thymic lymphoma cell of a mouse. This has an effect of revealing the function of an apoptosis regulatory gene by means of irradiation and providing a gene profile, by detecting an apoptosis regulatory gene detected in an irradiated-thymic lymphoma cell. The detected apoptosis regulatory gene is used to construct a gene profile that can assess the dose-response relationship of industrial and healthcare workers living in a low level-radiation environment. The detected apoptosis regulatory gene can be used as an index for evaluating the extent of cancer progression and the degree of treatment in patients with thymic lymphoma. The method for detecting such an apoptosis regulatory gene is used to prepare for the prepare a composition for diagnosing thymic lymphoma and a diagnostic kit.

The present disclosure concerns an in-vitro method for the identification and analysis of proteins with a stem cell function, in which initially, at least one three-dimensional sweat gland equivalent with from about 500 to about 500000 sweat gland cells as well as a diameter of from about 100 to about 6000 m is provided and subsequently, proteins with a stem cell function in this equivalent are identified and analyzed. Preferably, in a further step c) of the method, the influence of test substances on the proteins previously identified in step b) is investigated. Because the three-dimensional sweat gland equivalents used in step a) comprise differently differentiated cells and emulate the in-vivo situation well, the measured data obtained with the in-vitro method as contemplated herein can readily be applied to the in-vivo situation.

The purpose of the present invention is to develop a method for screening drugs having the effect of increasing skin barrier function in in vitro studies and to evaluate barrier function in the skin. Candidate drugs can be screened by using the activity and/or expression level of serine racemase as an indicator.