Regulation of p53 Activity by (+)-Epiloliolide Isolated from Ulva lactuca

Ulva lactuca (U. lactuca) is a green alga distributed worldwide and used as a food and cosmetic material. In our previous study, we determined the effects of U. lactuca methanol extracts on the UVB-induced DNA repair. In the present study, we fractionated U. lactuca methanol extracts to identify the effective compound for the DNA repair. MTT assay demonstrated that (+)-epiloliolide showed no cytotoxicity up to 100 μM in BJ-5ta human dermal fibroblast. Upon no treatment, exposure to UVB 400 J/m² decreased cell viability by 45%, whereas (+)-epiloliolide treatment for 24 h after UVB exposure significantly increased the cell viability. In GO and GESA analysis, a number of differentially expressed genes were uniquely expressed in (+)-epiloliolide treated cells, which were enriched in the p53 signaling pathway and excision repair. Immunofluorescence demonstrated that (+)-epiloliolide increased the nuclear localization of p53. Comet assay demonstrated that (+)-epiloliolide decreased tail moment increased by UVB. Western blot analysis demonstrated that (+)-epiloliolide decreased the levels of p-p53, p21, Bax, and Bim, but increased that of Bcl-2. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) demonstrated that (+)-epiloliolide decreased the levels of MMP 1, 9, and 13, but increased that of COL1A1. These results suggest that (+)-epiloliolide regulates p53 activity and has protective effects against UVB.