Identification of ultraviolet B-sensitive genes in human peripheral blood cells

Ultraviolet B (UVB) is a serious irritant for the skin and increases a risk for skin cancer. To identify UVB-sensitive genes in peripheral blood, 11 healthy male volunteers were exposed to 0.3 J/cm2 of narrow-band (NB)-UVB, about half of minimal erythema dose (MED) in Japanese, and gene expression in blood was analyzed at 4 h, 24 h, 4 d and 7 d after the irradiation using microarray carrying oligonucleotide probes for 2,000 stressresponsive genes. RNA prepared before the irradiation was used as a reference control. Microarray analysis identified 21 genes as UVB-responsive genes with a peak at 24 h in 6 subjects, and real-time PCR validated the significant down-regulation of 9 (ABCB10, ATF1, ABCD3, TANK, FAS, SLC30A9, CHUK, CASP1, and ABCE1) out of the 21 genes in 11 subjects. Considering sensitive and characteristic features of 9 marker genes, they may be useful indicators for monitoring systemic response to UVB irradiation.