Kinetics of DNA strand breaks and protection by antioxidants in UVA- or UVB-irradiated HaCaT keratinocytes using the single cell gel electrophoresis assay.

The aim of this study was to characterize the genotoxic action of UVA and UVB in human keratinocytes by application of the single cell gel electrophoresis assay (SCGE assay). Dose dependence of DNA damage, the time course of its repair, and the influence of cellular antioxidant status were assessed. Irradiation with UVA or UVB both resulted in a dose-dependent increase in the level of DNA damage. A time course study to evaluate the repair kinetics in keratinocytes irradiated with 5 J/cm2 UVA revealed an immediate occurrence of DNA effects which subsequently disappeared within about 1 h, indicating removal of DNA lesions. This rapid repair of DNA damage is consistent with the observation that 5 J/cm2 UVA did not impair cellular viability. In contrast, exposure to 15 mJ/cm2 UVB resulted in a prolonged repair of DNA damage which lasted about 25 h. Thus, the repair kinetics of UVA- and UVB-induced DNA damage clearly differed from each other, implicating the induction of different types of DNA lesions by UVA and UVB. Neither a pretreatment with Mg-ascorbyl phosphate or D,L-alpha-tocopherol, nor depletion of endogenous glutathione altered cellular sensitivity to UVB. In contrast, the DNA damaging effects of UVA could be counteracted by a pretreatment with these antioxidants. These observations confirm that the UVA-induced effects on DNA are related to radical mediated strand breaks and DNA lesions forming alkali-labile sites. The UVB-induced effects mainly occur as a consequence of excision repair-related strand breaks. The observed repair kinetics of DNA lesions and the influence of cellular antioxidant status may help to elucidate protective mechanisms against the carcinogenic effects of UV radiation present in sunlight.