UVB-induced Decrease of p16/CDKN2A Expression in Skin Cancer Patients (original) (raw)

2001, Pigment Cell Research

The UVB-induced decline of p16/ The lack of p16 expression has been shown in cultured melanoma cells, however contradictory evidence for p16 ex-CDKN2A in skin cancer patients might offer new insights into photocarcinogenesis. The putative sequence of events could pression in melanoma tissues exist. Ultraviolet (UV) C and UVB have been shown to affect p16 expression, which impairs start with a down-regulation of p16/CDKN2A expression, which would lead to impaired cell cycle regulation. Altered cell cycle regulation in vitro and in vivo. In this study, expression patterns of p16/CDKN2A following UVB expo-p16/CDKN2A gene expression was determined by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction in seven skin cancer sure could be of value for identifying people with an increased risk of UV-induced skin cancer. patients, in one dysplastic nevus patient and in seven healthy individuals, prior to UVB exposure and at various times after application of one minimal erythema dose (MED). Five of the Key words: p16, Melanoma, Squamous cell carcinoma, Human skin, RT-PCR, UVB, MED seven skin cancer patients showed a down-regulation of p16/ CDKN2A expression after UVB exposure, while controls other studies have shown that p16 inactivation is not frequent in primary melanoma tumors (7). Loss of heterozygosity of 9p21 markers are found in some metastatic melanomas, which suggests that p16 may be involved in the progression rather than in the initiation of melanomas (8). Studies of nevus and melanoma tissues demonstrated a decline or loss of p16 expression following the status of dedifferentiation from nevus via primary melanoma to melanoma metastases (9-12). Those studies demonstrate that the loss of p16/CDKN2A gene expression is a frequent event in sporadic melanoma tumorigenesis. Additionally, the p16/CDKN2A gene is likely to be an important genetic contributor to melanoma susceptibility. Moreover, UV radiation (UVR) has often been discussed as an exogenous