title: Shedding new light on the role of the sunshine vitamin D for skin health: the lncRNA-skin cancer connection.
abstract: Throughout evolution, vertebrates including humans have depended on the sunshine vitamin D for their calcified skeletons. As our hunter gatherer forefathers ventured from the equator, their skin tone became much lighter in order to permit an adequate amount of ultraviolet B radiation to enter the skin to produce the vitally important vitamin D. Although sensible sun exposure does not significantly increase risk of skin cancer, it has remained a mystery as to why. Jiang and Bikle in their viewpoint provide a novel insight as to how Mother Nature was able to balance the need for receiving adequate sun exposure to produce vitamin D while limiting damage caused by the DNA absorbing the ultraviolet B radiation. Long non-coding RNAs which are plentiful in cells have a dual personality. Some enhance malignancy, while others act as tumor suppressors. Jiang and Bikle provide compelling evidence that these long non-coding RNAs in skin cells are responsive to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 by decreasing their carcinogenic activity while enhancing their tumor suppression function presumably as a strategy for reducing ultraviolet-induced non-melanoma skin cancer. Mother Nature got it right. Sensible sun exposure is important for maintaining an adequate vitamin D status. Once formed in the skin, vitamin D can exit into the circulation to carry out its physiologic functions on calcium and bone metabolism. Some vitamin D however remains in the skin and is activated to interact with its vitamin D receptor to control cell proliferation using a variety of strategies including interacting with long non-coding RNAs to reduce risk of photocarcinogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Section of Endocrinology, Nutrition, and Diabetes, Department of Medicine, Vitamin D, Skin and Bone Research Laboratory, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Holick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000235:genetics*; D063646:Carcinogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000235:genetics*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D002117:Calcitriol
keywords: 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; long non-coding RNA; skin cancer; skin health; sunlight; vitamin D