Ultraviolet-B radiation (285–320 nm) elicits a number of cellular signaling elements. We investigated the preventive effect of linalool, a natural monoterpene, against UVB-induced oxidative imbalance, activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling in HDFa cells. We observed that linalool treatment (30 μM) prevented acute UVB-irradiation (20 mJ/cm2) mediated loss of activities of antioxidant enzymes in HDFa cells. The comet assay results illustrate that linalool significantly prevents UVB-mediated 8-deoxy guanosine formation (oxidative DNA damage) rather than UVB-induced cyclobutane pyrimidine (CPD) formation. This might be due to its ability to prevent UVB-induced ROS formation and to restore the oxidative imbalance of cells. This has been reflected in UVB-induced overexpression of MAPK and NF-κB signaling. We observed that linalool inhibited UVB-induced phosphorylation of ERK1, JNK and p38 proteins of MAPK family. Linalool inhibited UVB-induced activation of NF-κB/p65 by activating IκBa. We further observed that UVB-induced expression of TNF-α, IL6, IL-10, MMP-2 and MMP-9 was modulated by linalool treatment in HDFa cells. Thus, linalool protects the human skin cells from the oxidative damages of UVB radiation and modulates MAPK and NF-κB signaling in HDFa cells. The present findings substantiate that linalool may act as a photoprotective agent against UVB-induced skin damages.

In this study, the effect of caffeic acid (CA) on both acute and chronic UVB-irradiation-induced inflammation and photocarcinogenesis was investigated in Swiss albino mice. Animals were exposed to 180 mJ cm(-2) of UVB once daily for 10 consecutive days and thrice weekly for 30 weeks for acute and chronic study respectively. UVB exposure for 10 consecutive days showed edema formation, increased lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant status with activation of inflammatory molecules such as TNF-α, IL-6, COX-2 and NF-κB. However, CA (15 mg per kg.b.wt.) administration before each UVB exposure decreased lipid peroxidation, inflammatory markers expression and enhanced antioxidant status probably through the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARγ) in the mice skin. PPARγ is considered a potential target for photochemoprevention because it inhibits UVB-mediated inflammatory responses. In this study, UVB exposure for 30 weeks caused squamous cell carcinoma and upregulation of iNOS, VEGF and TGF-β and downregulation of p53 and tumor incidence in the mice skin. Both topical (CAT) and intraperitoneal (CAIP) treatment before each UVB exposure downregulates iNOS, VEGF, TGF-β, upregulates p53 and reduces tumors multiplicity in the mice skin. Thus, CA offers protection against UVB-induced photocarcinogenesis probably through activation of anti-inflammatory transcription factor PPARγ in the mice.

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