REVIEW   

Giornale Italiano di Dermatologia e Venereologia 2017 June;152(3):302-7

DOI: 10.23736/S0392-0488.17.05567-5

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

“Active” photoprotection: sunscreens with DNA repair enzymes

Matteo MEGNA, Serena LEMBO, Nicola BALATO, Giuseppe MONFRECOLA ✉

Department of Dermatology, Federico II University, Naples, Italy

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation exerts different harmful effects on human health, being the main etiological agent of certain skin cancers and photoaging. In this context, photoprotection, intended as a set of measures adopted to limit and prevent the effects of UV radiation, plays a critical role in avoiding undesired sunlight outcomes. Traditional sunscreens represent a widely used photoprotective approach, even if they exert a “passive photoprotection” and are not effective once damage to skin cells has been generated after sun exposure. Conversely, “active” photoprotection is represented by topical sunscreens including also antioxidants and liposome-containing DNA repair enzymes, which may constitute a photostrategy filling the current gap in sun protection. In the current review, we focused on “active” photoprotection at a topical level, reporting present knowledge and future prospective regarding DNA repair enzymes such as photolyase, endonuclease and 8-oxoguanine glycosylase which are able to enhance the protective power of traditional sunscreens.

KEY WORDS: Sun protection factor - Skin care - Endonucleases - Deoxyribodipyrimidine photo-lyase - Human oxoguanine glycosylase 1 - DNA damage - DNA repair