Unlike AntAge, a company founded and lead by a physician who lost his medical license for incompetence and developed a pro-inflammatory skin care technology based on bone marrow stem cells, Neogenesis and Factor Five use skin derived mesenchymal stem cells that are anti-inflammatory and pro-healing. Like NeoGenesis’ exosome technology, developed by a scientist with many peer-reviewed PubMed listed publications, FactorFive was also developed by a scientist who knew not to use bone marrow stem cells for production of the molecules to be used in his products. Scientists developing products is much different from a non-scientist physician who lost his license to practice medicine developing a product.

But NeoGenesis uses another stem cell type from the skin that FactorFive doesn’t use, namely dermis derived fibroblasts. Therefore, Factor Five does not use the same conditioned media as NG. They use only the molecules secreted from adipose mesenchymal stem cells, and not fibroblasts as used by NG.

Why are fibroblasts important to the skin?

Scientists have looked at extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by fibroblasts in the dermal layer of the skin and observed dramatic changes in expression levels of many ECM proteins, particularly the protein HAPLN1 (Kauer et al, 2019). Fibroblasts have been shown to influence dermal regeneration by secreting many specific ECM components (Rouselle et a; 2019). The molecules that fibroblasts release are responsible for producing most of the matrix molecules needed to build the dermis, along with the instruction set proteins that direct how the matrix molecules are ordered to construct a normal matrix without scar formation.

The same structural changes that happen in our skin with aging and cause the appearance of wrinkles are also responsible for the increased risk of metastasis in older melanoma patients. With advancing age, the network of fibers that supports our skin loses the ‘basket weave’ organization that is characteristic of younger skin and becomes more unorganized and looser. As taught to me by one of my professors at Berkeley, Dr. Mina Bissell, Ph.D., in a tumor setting, we think of the ECM matrix as a barrier that helps contain the tumor cells by inhibiting their motility while favoring infiltration of immune cells into the tumor mass (Bissell, 2007). The infiltrating immune cells then kill the cancer. In older patients, due to the loss of HAPLN1, this barrier becomes less efficient. These age-related changes also negatively affect the way immune cells, such as T-cells, enter the tumor, inhibiting the ability of T-cells to attack the cancer. Given that NG uses the molecules from fibroblasts, including HAPLN-1 and Factor Five does not, NG is better at rebuilding the dermal matrix in a normal “basket weave’ structure resulting in better remediation of lines and wrinkles, and sagging that also leads to better immune function in the skin and the prevention of cancer.

Further, the FF Regenerative Serum contains PEG, Polysorbate 20, and Fragrance. These ingredients can be pro-inflammatory, causing allergic reactions and leading to more inflammation and degradation of the dermal matrix.

References

Bissell MJ (2007) Architecture Is the Message: The role of extracellular matrix and 3-D structure in tissue-specific gene expression and breast cancer. Pezcoller Found J. (29):2-17.

Kauer A et al (2019) Remodeling of the Collagen Matrix in Aging Skin Promotes Melanoma Metastasis and Affects Immune Cell Motility. AACR Cancer Discov (2019) 9 (1): 64–81

Rousselle, P et al (2019) Extracellular matrix contribution to skin wound re-epithelialization. Matrix Biol. 75–76, 12–26.