Evaluation of photolyase (Photosome®) repair activity in human keratinocytes after a single dose of ultraviolet B irradiation using the comet assay

Photosome® is constituted of photolyases included in liposomes. Photolyase is a bacterial enzyme that can repair ultraviolet B (UVB)-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPD) in eukaryotic cells. A modified version of the alkaline comet assay has been set up to evaluate the repair activity of this enzyme after a single dose of UVB (312 nm, 0.06 J/cm2) in human keratinocytes. The formation of single strand breaks (SSB) induced by the UVA photoactivation of the enzyme (1.2 J/cm2) was inhibited by the pretreatment of the cells with 4 mM l-ergothioneine (ERT) during 30 min at 37 °C. To increase the sensitivity of the comet assay, an additional lysis was used with a buffer containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (0.5%) and proteinase K (0.1 mg/ml) for 60 min at 37 °C. Unrepaired CPD by photolyase were revealed by a second enzymatic treatment with T4 endonuclease V, a CPD specific glycosylase. UVB irradiation increased the SSB level in keratinocytes and additional T4NV treatment enhanced this SSB level by 1.5–2.0-fold confirming that CPD were the major base modifications generated by UVB irradiation. UVA-photoactivated Photosome® repaired CPD lesions and decreased the SSB levels by 2.6–3.3-fold. Photosome® could be an additional component of sunscreens to reduce the development of skin cancer.