A "sunscreen gene" has been discovered

Mednovosti based on the materials of MedicalDaily: ‘Sunscreen Gene' Is UV-Radiation Resistant, Protects Against Skin Cancer

A research team from the University of Southern California (University of Southern California) managed to discover a "sunscreen gene", the presence of which protects against ultraviolet radiation and may be able to prevent the development of skin cancer.

It is known that more than 90% of melanoma cases are associated with DNA damage resulting from the action of ultraviolet light. Over the past 30 years, the mortality rate from melanoma has doubled. Dr. Chengyu Liang and her colleagues studied the functions of the UVRAG gene, discovered about two decades ago. His mutation led to the fact that people became hypersensitive to ultraviolet light – they suffered from pigmented xeroderma. However, until recently it was unclear what role this gene plays in healthy people.

The authors studied data on 340 patients suffering from melanoma, and in addition, the study involved people whose expression level of the studied gene was reduced, or a mutation affecting this gene was present in the cells. Melanoma cells carrying a normal copy of the gene were used as a control.

Diagram from the article in Molecular Cell – VM

Fragments of tumor tissues were taken from all participants. The cells were subjected to a single ultraviolet irradiation. It turned out that if a normal copy of the gene under study was present in the genome, this made it possible to correct almost half of the DNA damage caused by ultraviolet light. Carriers of the mutant gene managed to "repair" less than 20% of the damage. The data obtained indicate that the presence of a "sunscreen gene" can indeed protect against ultraviolet radiation to some extent. The product of this gene indirectly participated in the repair process, detecting damage and coordinating the process of repairing damage.

The researchers plan to conduct larger–scale experiments, and in the future - to develop new drugs designed for people at risk of developing melanoma.

Article by Yang et al. Autophagic UVRAG Promotes UV-Induced Photolysis Repair by Activation of the CRL4DDB2 E3 Ligase published in the journal Molecular Cell. 

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  23.05.2016