Sunburn and p53 in the onset of skin cancer
Abstract
Squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (SCC) can progress by stages: sun-damaged epidermis, with individual disordered keratinocytes; actinic keratosis (AK), spontaneously regressing keratinized patches having aberrant cell differentiation and proliferation; carcinoma in situ; SCC and metastasis. To understand how sunlight acts as a carcinogen, we determined the stage at which sunlight mutates the p53 tumour-suppressor gene and identified a function for p53 in skin. The p53 mutations induced by ultraviolet radiation and found in > 90% of human SCCs were present in AKs. Inactivating p53 in mouse skin reduced the appearance of sunburn cells, apoptotic keratinocytes generated by overexposure to ultraviolet. Skin thus appears to possess a p53-dependent 'guardian-of-the-tissue' response to DNA damage which aborts precancerous cells. If this response is reduced in a single cell by a prior p53 mutation, sunburn can select for clonal expansion of the p53-mutated cell into the AK. Sunlight can act twice: as tumour initiator and tumour promoter.
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These photolesions contribute to the high proportion of p53 mutations in squamous cell carcinomas.
“These photolesions contribute to the high proportion of p53 mutations in squamous cell carcinomas [19].”
From Molecular Mechanisms of UV-Induced Apoptosis and Its Effects on Skin Residential Cells: The Implication in UV-Based Phototherapy (2013) · cites this paper as [19]
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- Authors
- Ziegler, A., Jonason, A. S., Leffellt, D. J., Simon, J. A., Sharma, H. W., Kimmelman, J., Remington, L., Jacks, T., & Brash, D. E.
- Affiliations
- Yale University (US)
- Oregon Health & Science University (US)
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 1994-12
- Volume
- 372
- Issue
- 6508
- Pages
- 773-776
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1993358791
- Cited by
- 1,497
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 23 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 34 · 2016: 33 · 2015: 41 · 2014: 43 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 40
- FWCI
- 62.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer-related Molecular Pathways
- Keywords
- p53, sunburn, skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, actinic keratosis, ultraviolet radiation, TP53 mutation, keratinocyte apoptosis, DNA damage response, tumor initiation, tumor promotion, clonal expansion, carcinogenesis
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Carcinoma, Squamous Cell, DNA Mutational Analysis, Humans, Keratosis, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mutation, Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced, Skin, Skin Neoplasms, Sunburn, Sunlight, Ultraviolet Rays, Genes, p53, Apoptosis, Mice
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