Tan without a beach and a solarium
Scientists have created a cream for a "real" tan for redheads and blondes
Biologists from the USA have discovered a protein molecule that causes human skin cells to be covered with a real tan without the participation of the Sun. It works even for red-haired girls and blondes, according to an article published in the journal Cell Reports (Mujahid et al., A UV-Independent Topical Small-Molecule Approach for Melanin Production in Human Skin).
"We believe that we have discovered a new strategy to fight skin cancer. Malignant tumors most often affect the skin, and most of them are associated with ultraviolet radiation. Our approach allows us to replace molecules of light pigments in skin cells with their dark "cousins" without irradiating them with ultraviolet radiation," said David Fisher from Harvard University (in a press release Mass. General-led study replicates tanning response in cultured human skin – VM).
According to official WHO statistics, prolonged exposure to the sun is today the main cause of the development of melanoma and other forms of skin cancer. This is due to the fact that the ultraviolet radiation of the luminary either directly destroys DNA, or interacts with molecules in the cells of our skin and turns some of them into carcinogens. Every year, the number of victims of skin cancer is replenished by about 132 thousand people.
The main "defender" of a person from the unpleasant effects of tanning is the pigment melanin, which absorbs ultraviolet light without harm to the rest of the cell. Today, scientists are not completely sure whether melanin always protects our skin from cancer. There is evidence that its yellow variety, pheomelanin, present in the skin cells of red-haired and fair-haired people, promotes the development of melanoma, and the synthesis of melanin in skin cells when they are irradiated with sunlight is accompanied by the release of aggressive molecules that can damage DNA.
Ten years ago, Fischer and his colleagues discovered that the development of skin cancer in redheads and blondes can be prevented if their skin is coated with a special substance – the protein forskolin. As experiments on mice have shown, it "includes" in their DNA genes associated with the synthesis of "black" melanin, even if they are missing or damaged receptors that respond to ultraviolet irradiation of the skin.
When scientists tried to transfer the results of experiments on mice to humans, they were disappointed – forskolin molecules could not penetrate through relatively thick human skin. This forced Fischer's team to return to the laboratory and begin developing another protein that could "seep" through the surface of human skin and include the same gene chain as forskolin.
The scientists' attention was attracted by the SIK2 gene and the enzyme associated with it that controls the behavior of the MITF gene, the main "regulator" of mammalian coloration. In normal cells of the body, SIK2 suppresses the work of MITF, preventing the synthesis of new pigment molecules and the appearance of other changes, usually associated with the growth of the embryo or a reaction to ultraviolet radiation.
Guided by this idea, the scientists synthesized the protein YKL 06-061, which neutralizes the SIK2 molecules and forcibly "turns on" MITF for several days until the concentration of the SIK2 enzyme destroyed by it is restored.
As experiments on mice and human skin samples grown in vitro have shown, coating the skin with even a small amount of YKL 06-061 causes it to become tanned or even completely black in a very short time – 1-2 hours.
From left to right: areas of human skin covered with a neutral substance, ordinary forskolin and protein YKL 06-061. Photo: Nisma Mujahid and David E. Fisher, Massachusetts General Hospital.
This protein acted on both "red" mice and "blonde" rodents, in which the MC1R gene responsible for black hair coloring and dark skin color in brunettes was removed or damaged. On average, such a tan remains in place for about 10 days, after which it comes off together with exfoliating skin.
This substance, scientists believe, can become the basis for future skin protection products against melanoma and other cancers, which will allow even red-haired women and men, blondes and blondes to sunbathe on beaches for a long time and not be afraid of the Sun.
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14.06.2017