A research team from Ohio State University has been studying the effects of solar radiation on skin cells. They have been able to replicate the process within the tight scrutiny of their laboratory. What they found is that the key biological molecules, which operate during the repair of sunburned cells, function in a way totally unexpected. This new knowledge may possibly lead to the production of special treatments that can heal sunburn. Their findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A research team from Ohio State University has been studying the effects of solar radiation on skin cells. They have been able to replicate the process within the tight scrutiny of their laboratory. What they found is that the key biological molecules, which operate during the repair of sunburned cells, function in a way totally unexpected. This new knowledge may possibly lead to the production of special treatments that can heal sunburn. Their findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The researchers, led by Dongping Zhong, professor of physics at Ohio State University, examined the enzyme photolyase. Photolyase is already known to be naturally produced in plant and animal cells, but not in human cells. This enzyme repairs DNA by cutting the sunburned-damaged DNA on both ends and reforming the damaged section into its original shape.
However, the researchers found that the enzyme does not break into both ends of the damaged DNA at the same time. Instead, the photolyase sends an electron through the DNA molecule in a circuit from one break point to the other. The two break points then break one after the other. The first breaks a few trillionths of a second after the electron is released, and the other after a 90 trillionths of a second delay.
The incredibly fast event times were able to be observed by use of a laser with a strobe light effect. This laser is able to capture the rapid measurements of the enzyme. They found that the electron traveled from one break point to the other through the outer edge of the ring-shaped damage site, rather than directly through.
"The enzyme needs to inject an electron into damaged DNA -- but how?" asked Zhong. "There are two pathways. One is direct jump from the enzyme across the ring from one side to the other, which is a short distance. But instead the electron takes the scenic route. We found that along the way, there is another molecule that acts as a bridge to speed the electron flow, and in this way, the long route actually takes less time."
The enzyme, photolyase, which does not naturally occur in humans, has the potential to be a miracle sunburn medication. The ultraviolet light in the sun's rays damages DNA by causing accidental bonds to form, called photo-lesions. These can eventually lead to cancer. If a synthetic form of photoyase could be used on humans, people could have the same UV protection as other creatures on Earth. However, the manufacturing of photolyase will be left to future researchers to develop.
Link to published article: http://www.pnas.org/content/107/7/2914.abstract?sid=a2070f46-f7af-49ea-93d8-1f537c2f1197
