Controlling concentrations of a protein known as RHAMM could potentially eliminate wrinkles and rejuvenate the skin without surgery or neurotoxin injections.

Research at Berkeley Lab suggests that a protein linked to the spread of several major human cancers may also hold great potential for the elimination of wrinkles and the rejuvenation of the skin.

If this promise bears fruit, controlling concentration of RHAMM (receptor for hyaluronan mediated motility) a protein, could one day replace surgical procedures or injections with neurotoxins that carry such unpleasant side-effects as muscle paralysis and loss of facial expressions.

As we age, fat cells in the subcutaneous layer of the skin become smaller and fewer in number so that they are not longer able to "fill in" damage to the epidermal and dermal skin layers. The results are wrinkles and sagging.

Mina Bissell, cell biologist with Berkeley Lab and authority on breast cancer, collaborated with Eva Turley, oncology professor, University of Western Ontario on a study of the role that RHAMM plays in regulating the signalling of adipocytes (fat cells) during the repairing of tissue wounds from injuries such as skin cuts, heart attacks and stroke.

Earlier research by Turley, who discovered RHAMM, had shown that over-expression of this protein points to a poor patient outcome for such human cancers as breast, colon, rectal and stomach.

"This technique could be developed as a means of providing a non-surgical approach for normalising skin appearance after reconstructive surgery, for wrinkle reduction, and for face lifts and figure enhancement," said Bissell.