Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
PLoS One. 2023 Jan 31;18(1):e0281162. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281162. eCollection 2023.
Far-ultraviolet radiation C light (far-UVC; 222 nm wavelength) has received attention as a safer light for killing pathogenic bacteria and viruses, as no or little DNA damage is observed after irradiation in mammalian skin models. Far-UVC does not penetrate deeply into tissues; therefore, it cannot reach the underlying critical basal cells. However, it was unclear whether far-UVC (222-UVC) irradiation could cause more biological damage at shallower depths than the 254 nm UVC irradiation (254-UVC), which penetrates more deeply. This study investigated the biological effects of 222- and 254-UVC on the small and transparent model organism Caenorhabditis elegans. At the same energy level of irradiation, 222-UVC introduced slightly less cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer damage to naked DNA in solution than 254-UVC. The survival of eggs laid during 0-4 h after irradiation showed a marked decrease with 254-UVC but not 222-UVC. In addition, defect of chromosomal condensation was observed in a full-grown oocyte by 254-UVC irradiation. In contrast, 222-UVC had a significant effect on the loss of motility of C. elegans. The sensory nervous system, which includes dopamine CEP and PVD neurons on the body surface, was severely damaged by 222-UVC, but not by the same dose of 254-UVC. Interestingly, increasing 254-UVC irradiation by about 10-fold causes similar damage to CEP neurons. These results suggest that 222-UVC is less penetrating, so energy transfer occurs more effectively in tissues near the surface, causing more severe damage than 254-UVC.
远紫外线 C 光（远 UV-C；波长 222nm）作为一种更安全的杀灭致病细菌和病毒的光线而受到关注，因为在哺乳动物皮肤模型中照射后观察到几乎没有或没有 DNA 损伤。远 UV-C 不会深入穿透组织；因此，它无法到达下面的关键基底细胞。然而，尚不清楚远 UV-C（222nm-UV-C）照射是否会在比穿透更深的 254nmUVC 照射（254nm-UV-C）更浅的深度引起更多的生物损伤。本研究调查了 222nm-和 254nm-UVC 对小型透明模式生物秀丽隐杆线虫的生物学影响。在相同的辐照能量水平下，222nm-UV-C 对溶液中裸露 DNA 造成的环丁烷嘧啶二聚体损伤略小于 254nm-UV-C。照射后 0-4 小时内产卵的存活率显示出 254nm-UV-C 明显下降，但 222nm-UV-C 没有。此外，在全长卵母细胞中观察到染色体凝聚缺陷。相比之下，222nm-UV-C 对秀丽隐杆线虫的运动能力丧失有显著影响。感觉神经系统，包括体表上的多巴胺 CEP 和 PVD 神经元，受到 222nm-UV-C 的严重损伤，但相同剂量的 254nm-UV-C 没有。有趣的是，将 254nm-UV-C 照射增加约 10 倍会对 CEP 神经元造成类似的损伤。这些结果表明，222nm-UV-C 穿透力较弱，因此能量传递在表面附近的组织中更有效，造成比 254nm-UV-C 更严重的损伤。
