Cited by 550Photochemistry and Electron Transfer Studiesmelanin and skin pigmentationSkin Protection and Aging

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 38 of the 39 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 11 of the 45 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Chemiexcitation of melanin derivatives induces DNA photoproducts long after UV exposure

Open access

Abstract

The dark side of melanin exposed: Sun worshippers may have more to worry about than the DNA damage that occurs while they're relaxing on the beach. It seems that the DNA photoproducts responsible for cancer-causing mutations in skin cells continue to be generated for hours after sunlight exposure. Premi et al. find that a key mediator of this delayed damage is melanin, a pigment thought to protect against cancer (see the Perspective by Taylor). They propose a “chemiexcitation” model in which reactive oxygen and nitrogen species induced by ultraviolet light excite an electron in melanin fragments. This energy is then transferred to DNA, inducing the same damage as ultraviolet light, but in the dark. Conceivably, this energy could be dissipated by adding quenchers to sunscreens. Science , this issue p. 842 ; see also p. 824

Overview

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1126/science.1256022

Cites

38 of 38 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

11 of 45 cited sources checked · 3 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 49 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 33
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 11
40 of 40
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    UVA accounts for about 95% of the ultraviolet energy that reaches the Earth's surface.

    “The lower-energy UVA (315-400 nm), which constitutes ~95% of the ultraviolet energy that penetrates the atmosphere, also induces melanoma in mice and in humans who use tanning beds, but it is inefficient at making the cytosine-containing CPD that cause C→T mutations (12, 13).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Disorders of CPD repair, such as xeroderma pigmentosum, increase childhood melanoma risk by 10,000-fold.

    “genetic disorders of CPD repair such as xeroderma pigmentosum elevate the risk for childhood melanoma by 10,000-fold.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Peroxynitrite and nitric oxide can diffuse far enough from where they are made to reach their target molecules.

    “Peroxynitrite and NO• are stable enough to diffuse significant distances from the site of generation to the target molecule.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The dark cytoplasmic granules seen in unirradiated normal melanocytes are melanin aggregates located in melanosomes, coated vesicles, and endoplasmic reticulum.

    “We presume these are melanin aggregates in melanosomes, coated vesicles, and endoplasmic reticulum because they have the same size and cellular locations as granules seen in melanocytes immunostained for tyrosinase (31).”
4 of 4

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Citations

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Items 101–116 of 116

Metadata

Authors
Premi, S., Wallisch, S., Mano, C. M., Weiner, A. B., Bacchiocchi, A., Wakamatsu, K., Bechara, E. J. H., Halaban, R., Douki, T., & Brash, D. E.
Affiliations
  • Yale University (US)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • Fujita Health University (JP)
  • Yale Cancer Center (US)
  • Université Joseph Fourier (FR)
Corresponding author
  • Bechara, Etelvino J. H.
  • Douki, Thierry
  • Brash, Douglas E.
Venue
Science
Published
2015-02-20
Volume
347
Issue
6224
Pages
842-847
ISSN
  • 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
  • 1095-9203
OpenAlex
W2093971029
Cited by
550
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 34 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 66 · 2020: 46 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 45 · 2017: 46 · 2016: 53 · 2015: 24
FWCI
38.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Department of Defense CDMRP (CA093473P1, CA093473)
  • University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
  • Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo
  • FAPESP (06/56530-4)
  • NIH (P50 CA121974, P30 DK34989)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Physical and Theoretical Chemistry › Photochemistry and Electron Transfer Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Skin Protection and Aging
Keywords
melanin, chemiexcitation, cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers, DNA photoproducts, melanoma, UVA, melanocytes, triplet state, reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, tanning beds
MeSH terms
Animals, Cells, Cultured, Cytosine, DNA, DNA Damage, Energy Transfer, Humans, Melanins, Melanocytes, Melanoma, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Mutation, Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced, Pyrimidine Dimers, Skin Neoplasms, Sunlight, Thymine, Ultraviolet Rays, Mutagenesis, Photons, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 1, Mice

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-09-28, under version 3 of the claim definition (prompt extract-v3).

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Cited sources are checked with a language model’s help (gpt-6-sol).

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