Do ‘classical’ Or ‘oxidative’ UVR-induced DNA Adducts Drive Melanoma Induction After Ultraviolet Radiation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,757.00
Summary
There is debate about the mechanisms by which sun exposure influences melanoma development. This leads to difficulties in formulating adequate sunscreens and guidelines for safe levels of exposure. We will elucidate the critical UV-induced DNA adducts that are necessary for MM development. This will introduce experimental evidence into the debate about sun exposure and melanoma. The use of post sunburn creams containing enzymes which rapidly remove the dangerous DNA adducts will be indicated.
Susceptibility Of The Basal Layer Of Human Epidermis To UVA Oxidative Damage Due To Pheomelanin And Suboptimal DNA Repair
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$559,354.00
Summary
Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world. It is important to understand how sunlight causes skin cancer and the wavelengths involved in order to devise effective preventative and therapeutic strategies. Our proposal is that the cells in the skin that give rise to the most common forms of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, are particularly vulnerable to UVA. We aim to study why this is the case and whether this vulnerability can be prevented.
Brm And Brg-1 Protect From Ultraviolet Radiation-induced Skin And Ocular Damage
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$555,325.00
Summary
Ultraviolet radiation within sunlight is the most important environmental hazard to which Australians are exposed. It causes cancers of the skin and eye, in addition to other forms of skin and eye damage. However sunlight also has health benefits such as vitamin D production. To protect our health from the sun we need to understand how it causes damage and the meachanisms involved. We have discovered a new pathway that we plan to study, called Brm and Brg-1, that provides protection from UV.
Determination Of An Action Spectrum For Ultraviolet Radiation-induced Immunosuppression In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$213,500.00
Summary
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes mutations in the skin which can develop into cancers many years later. The skin's immune system is an important defence that prevents most potentially cancerous cells from developing into skin tumours. UV also suppresses skin immunity, allowing cancer cells to proliferate unchecked. There is also evidence that this UV-induced immunosuppression may have important effects on infectious diseases such as herpes virus, leprosy and tropical ulcers. Sunlight contains U ....Ultraviolet (UV) radiation causes mutations in the skin which can develop into cancers many years later. The skin's immune system is an important defence that prevents most potentially cancerous cells from developing into skin tumours. UV also suppresses skin immunity, allowing cancer cells to proliferate unchecked. There is also evidence that this UV-induced immunosuppression may have important effects on infectious diseases such as herpes virus, leprosy and tropical ulcers. Sunlight contains UVB, which causes sunburn, and UVA. Until recently, UVA was thought to have little effect on skin immunity. We have previously shown that both broadband UVB and UVA are immunosuppressive, even after single exposures equivalent to 8 minutes of sunlight. It is not known which UVA wavelengths are most immunosuppressive. These studies will use a xenon arc solar simulator and a series of interference filters to produce narrow UVB and UVA wavebands. The effects of these wavebands on humans can be studied by deliberately eliciting immune responses to substances which volunteers are already sensitive to. One model of skin immunity in these studies is allergy to nickel (in earrings and costume jewellery), which affects 10% of women. The volunteers' backs are exposed to different UV wavelengths, and then nickel patches are taped to both the UV-exposed areas and adjacent, unexposed areas. By comparing the intensity (redness and thickness) of these nickel reactions, immunosuppression caused by each waveband can be measured. Similarly, the Mantoux reaction (in people vaccinated against tuberculosis) provides another, complementary model of skin immunity. Knowledge of the immune effects of different UV wavelengths (an action spectrum for UV immunosuppression) would improve understanding of skin cancer and enable development of better sunscreens, which currently offer only partial immune protection.Read moreRead less
Quantitiative Assessment Of Solar UV Exposure For Vitamin D Synthesis In Australian Adults
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,162,536.00
Summary
This research program will add significantly to our current scientific understanding of the dual health outcomes of UV exposure (Vitamin D and skin cancer) . This project is in line with Australia's R and D Priorities, in that it will result in direct and indirect social and economic benefits to Australia by applying the scientific knowledge gained through this research to develop public health initiatives to improve some of Australia's most significant and costly health problems.