An immunohistochemical panel to assess ultraviolet radiation-associated oxidative skin injury

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation results in a significant loss in years of healthy life, approximately 1.5 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), and is associated with greater than 60,000 deaths annually worldwide that are attributed to melanoma and other skin cancers. Currently, there are no standardized biomarkers or assay panels to assess oxidative stress skin injury patterns in human skin exposed to ionizing radiation. Using biopsy specimens from chronic solar UV-exposed and UV-protected skin, we demonstrate that UV radiation-induced oxidative skin injury can be evaluated by an immunohistochemical panel that stains 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) to assess DNA adducts, 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) to assess lipid peroxidation, and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) to assess protein damage. We believe this panel contains the necessary cellular biomarkers to evaluate topical agents, such as sunscreens and anti-oxidants that are designed to prevent oxidative skin damage and may reduce UV-associated skin aging, carcinogenesis, and inflammatory skin diseases. We envision that this panel will become an important tool for researchers developing topical agents to protect against UV radiation and other oxidants and ultimately lead to reductions in lost years of healthy life, DALYs, and annual deaths associated with UV radiation.