title: Effect of UVA and blue light on porphyrin biosynthesis in epidermal cells.
abstract: To study porphyrin biosynthesis in normal human keratinocytes and A431 cells derived from human epidermoid carcinoma, cultured cells were incubated with delta-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), the precursor of porphyrin synthesis, and accumulation of porphyrins was measured spectrofluorometrically. Both human keratinocytes and A431 cells accumulated porphyrins in a time-dependent and a dose-dependent fashion. Protoporphyrin was the predominant porphyrin accumulated by both cell types. Porphyrin accumulation was enhanced by Ca Mg ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, a ferrochelatase inhibitor, and the enhancement was reversed by the addition of iron, suggesting the utilization of iron by ferrochelatase. The effect of light on porphyrin accumulation was evaluated by exposing the ALA-loaded A431 cells to ultraviolet-A (UVA) and blue light radiation, followed by continued incubation with ALA for 2-48 h. There was an enhancement of porphyrin accumulation 2-48 h after the radiation as compared with nonirradiated controls. Consistent with this finding, ferrochelatase activity decreased in these cells at 24 h and 48 h. These data demonstrate that human keratinocytes and A431 cells are capable of porphyrin biosynthesis, and that exposure of porphyrin-containing A431 cells to light, which includes the Soret band spectrum, decreases the ferrochelatase activity, which is responsible, at least in part, for the further increase in porphyrin level.
authors.affiliation: Dermatology Service, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York, NY 10010.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sassa
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004492:Edetic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D004817:Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D015603:Keratinocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008027:Light; D008274:Magnesium / Q000494:pharmacology; D011166:Porphyrins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D011166:Porphyrins; D004492:Edetic Acid; D007501:Iron; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium