In vitro assays for evaluating the cellular responses to DNA damage induced by solar UV

Solar UV induces dimeric photolesions in the genome of human skin cells, which potentially cause cutaneous abnormalities including cancer and aging. Normal human cells possess various systems to protect their genome from the harmful DNA lesions and nucleotide excision repair plays a dominant role in removing and fixing those DNA lesions. Measuring DNA lesions induced in the cells as well as monitoring the activity of cellular repair activity are helpful for evaluating the risk suffered from solar UV. We have previously established several monoclonal antibodies specifically recognizing UV-induced DNA lesions and developed in vitro immunoassays using the antibodies. Here I show various applications of the immunoassays to evaluate the cellular responses to UV-induced DNA lesions.