Effects of UV radiation on DNA: Review

Abstract

Induction of DNA damage by solar UV radiation is a key event in the development of skin cancers. This review discusses the effects of UV radiation on DNA and in it, emphasis was placed on the main photoreactions of nucleic acid components, involving both direct and indirect effects. We referred to the electronic databases PubMed/Medline, Science Direct, Scopus and  2 via other sources to search for articles that were published until April 2020. The main UVB- and UVA-induced DNA photoproducts, together with the mechanisms of their formation, are described. Bipyrimidine photoproducts, including cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs), (6-4) photoproducts and their Dewar valence isomers, have been identified as major UVinduced DNA lesions. In addition, it was found that UVA photooxidation damage mostly involves the guanine residues of cellular DNA as the result of singlet oxygen generation by still unknown endogenous photosensitizers.