Biphasic effect of UVA radiation on STAT1 activity and tyrosine phosphorylation in cultured human keratinocytes

The effect of ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation on the DNA-binding activity of the transcription factor STAT1 was studied by electromobility shift assay in the human keratinocyte cell line NCTC 2544. The STAT1-binding activity exhibited a biphasic pattern as a function of UVA doses. For UVA doses lower than 0.6 J/cm(2), a dose-dependent increase in STAT1 activity was observed. In a second phase, with higher UVA doses (1.5 to 9 J/cm(2)), the activity decreased and reached control value at 6 J/cm2. The enhancement of STAT1 activity was transient, peaked at 1 h after UV irradiation, and regularly decreased to control value 24 h after UV. Genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, H7, a serine/threonine kinase inhibitor, and PD 98059, a MEK inhibitor, prevented the UVA-induced enhancement of STAT1-binding activity, suggesting the involvement of Tyr, Ser/Thr kinases, and MEK in the observed effect. Immunoblot analysis directly demonstrated that the amount of Tyr-phosphorylated STAT1 was parallel to its DNA-binding activity. Immunoblot analysis also demonstrated the nuclear transport of STAT1 after UVA irradiation at low doses. At high doses, a decrease in the STAT1 level was observed both in the cytoplasmic and the nuclear compartments, suggesting that the inactivation was due to a degradation process. UVA irradiation initiated a dose-dependent increase in lipid peroxidation products and reactive oxygen species. Furthermore, the involvement of the oxidative stress in the UVA-induced effect on STAT1 activity is suggested by the protective action of the antioxidants alpha-tocopherol and N-acetylcysteine on both the activation phase (UVA doses lower than 1.5 J/cm(2)) and the inhibitory phase. By contrast, the pro-oxidant drug buthionine sulfoximine enhanced the effect of UVA on STAT1-binding activity. Since STATs are known as transducers of cytokine action, the enhancement of STAT1 activity by low doses of UVA might be related to the proinflammatory effect of solar radiations at the skin level.