Fig 1: Effects of FRB, FSB and FSC on MMP and cytokine expression in UVB-induced hairless mice. (A) MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression levels determined using RT-qPCR. Total cellular RNA was extracted using RNAzol from skin tissues. Next, 3 µg total RNA was used for cDNA synthesis via RT-qPCR with the appropriate primer sequences. (B) Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit-mediated determination of the MMP-2 protein expression. (C) Measurement of inflammation-associated cytokines using RT-qPCR. All values are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. A Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test and Bonferroni's post-hoc tests were used for MMP-3, MMP-13, TNF-α and IL-1β groups and one-way analysis of variance and Scheffe's post-hoc test were used to control for multiple comparisons. aP<0.05, bP<0.01 and cP<0.001 vs. normal control mice. RQ, MMP, matrix metalloproteinase; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α; COX-2, cyclooxygenase-2; iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; IL, interleukin; FRB, fermented rice bran; FSB, fermented soybean cake; FSC, fermented sesame seed cake; UVB, ultraviolet B; RA, retinoic acid; RT-qPCR, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction.