From skin cancer redheads will not save even the refusal of sunburn
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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A group of scientists from the Skin Research Center, Charlestown, discovered that red-haired people with fair skin are at risk of developing melanoma even with complete UV protection.
The research was conducted under the guidance of Dr. David Fischer.
According to experts, permanent protection and complete refusal of sunburn does not reduce the risk of developing red skin cancer people. This is because their DNA contains a damaged gene that protects skin cells from mutations.
Melanoma is one of the most common types of malignant tumors in the world. According to WHO statistics, 132,000 people worldwide become skin cancer victims each year. Redheads and blondes are advised to refrain from excessive sun exposure, because their skin is poorly protected from ultraviolet radiation from the sun and is most prone to melanomas.
A team of scientists in lava with Dr. Fisher conducted an experiment in mice, planting them with human genes that are responsible for the color of skin and hair. There were three groups of animals: one - blondes, the second - brunettes and the third - red.
Rodent brunettes differed from their relatives, because they had a normal set of genes, unlike the other two groups, which had genes with different mutations. In particular, the "red" gene was damaged gene MC1R, which is responsible for the production of zumelanin - black pigment. If this site is damaged, then the hair and skin cells begin production of another dye - pheomelanin, which makes redheads red-haired.
Bladder rodents in the MC1R gene had no damage, but none of the pigment molecules were produced. This anomaly is caused by a mutation in another gene - Tyr.
The goal of the specialists was to find out how much the mice from each group are at risk of developing skin cancer. To do this, researchers crossed the animals with rodents, genetically predisposed to the development of melanoma.
After the birth of the second generation of mice, they were put in a separate cage and watched their life activity during the year, while limiting to the maximum the exposure of ultraviolet rays to their skin.
As it turned out, about half of the offspring of the "red-haired" mice died from skin cancer in the first year of life. And the number of "brunettes" and "blondes" was reduced only by 10-20%, despite the fact that there was a dangerous mutation in their genome.
According to scientists, the reason lies not only in the fact that the eumelanin molecules protect the skin cells from ultraviolet, but also because they interfere with the oxidation of the DNA molecule and the appearance of cancer mutations.
Experts say that to reduce the risk of developing melanoma red-haired people can thanks to antioxidants and drugs that stimulate the synthesis of zumelanin.
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