REVIEW article
Front. Cell Dev. Biol.
Sec. Signaling
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcell.2025.1625357
Interplay between MAPK signaling pathway and autophagy in skin aging: mechanistic insights and therapeutic implications
Provisionally accepted
- 1First Clinical Medical College, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
- 2Department of Exercise Physiology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, Beijing, China
- 3The Third Clinical College, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
- 4College of Acupuncture, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
- 5Department of Dermatology and Cosmetology, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital 2nd Affiliated Hospital, Shenyang, China
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Skin aging manifests as structural degradation, functional decline, and heightened disease susceptibility. Central to this process is the overactivation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway triggered by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Autophagy, a lysosomal degradation mechanism essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis, demonstrates contextdependent duality in skin aging by mediating cytoprotective effects and stress-induced dysfunction. Emerging evidence highlights that the interplay between MAPK signaling and autophagy critically modulates skin aging progression. Despite its therapeutic potential, the lack of effective targeting strategies severely hinders clinical translation. Therefore, this review synthesizes current evidence on MAPK-autophagy interplay across key cutaneous cell populations, namely, keratinocytes, fibroblasts, and melanocytes (including melanoma), revealing cell-type-specific regulatory networks that influence skin aging. Subsequently, we explore the therapeutic potential of natural bioactive compounds targeting this interplay to accelerate the translation of evidence into the progression of strategies for combating skin aging.
Keywords: Skin Aging, MAPK, Autophagy, Interplay, Natural bioactive compounds
Received: 08 May 2025; Accepted: 20 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Chen, Liu, Zhang and Wu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaoqing Zhang, College of Acupuncture, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
Jingdong Wu, First Clinical Medical College, Liaoning University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shenyang, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.