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12-Jul-2004
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Arch Hellen Med, 19(2), March-April 2002, 141-152 REVIEW The photochemical damage of DNA and its role in
the biological effects Α.J. STRATIGOS, C. ANTONIOU |
The exposure of human skin to ultraviolet radiation causes a wide range of cellular, biochemical and clinical changes which occur in an immediate or chronic setting. The changes result from complex molecular mechanisms which are initiated by the absorption of ultraviolet radiation from various different chromophores of the skin. The photochemical reactions induced in cellular DNA, one of the main cutaneous chromophores, lead to the formation of photoproducts such as cyclobutane dimers and 6-4 pyrimidine-pyrimidone dimers. The presence of photoproducts and the subsequent alterations in cell function contribute, through yet unclear mechanisms, to the development of certain acute and chronic effects of ultraviolet radiation on the skin, including sunburn erythema, pigmentation, immunosuppression and skin cancer. This article reviews the role of photoproducts on the photobiologic reactions of the skin and discusses possible implications for the improvement of photoprotection.
Key words: Cyclobutane dimers, DNA, Erythema, Immunosuppression, Photocarcinogenesis, Photoproducts, Pigmentation, Skin cancer, Sunscreens, 6-4 pyrimidine-pyrimidone dimers.
