Summary The hairless (Hr) gene encodes a transcriptional co-repressor highly expressed in the mammalian skin. In the mouse, several null and hypomorphic Hr alleles have been identified resulting in hairlessness in homozygous animals, characterized by alopecia developing after a single cycle of relatively normal hair growth. Mutations in the human ortholog have also been associated with congenital alopecia. Although a variety of hairless strains have been developed, outbred SKH1 mice are the most widely used in dermatologic research. These unpigmented and immunocompetent mice allow for ready manipulation of the skin, application of topical agents, and exposure to UVR, as well as easy visualization of the cutaneous response. Wound healing, acute photobiologic responses, and skin carcinogenesis have been extensively studied in SKH1 mice and are well characterized. In addition, tumors induced in these mice resemble, both at the morphologic and molecular levels, UVR-induced skin malignancies in man. Two limitations of the SKH1 mouse in dermatologic research are the relatively uncharacterized genetic background and its outbred status, which precludes inter-individual transplantation studies.

Vitamin D is produced in skin by UVB radiation (290-320 nm) acting on 7-dehydrocholesterol. The hypotheses that the active vitamin D hormone, 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3), would increase the survival of skin cells after UV irradiation and that surviving cells after 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment would have no increase in DNA damage were tested. The survival of keratinocytes post-UVR was significantly greater after treatment with 1,25(OH)2D3 compared to vehicle (P<0.01). Significant reductions in thymine dimers (TDs) in surviving keratinocytes after UVR were noted in the presence of 1,25(OH)2D3 (P<0.001). Nuclear p53 protein expression increased after UVR and was significantly higher in keratinocytes treated with 1,25(OH)2D3 (P<0.01), whereas NO products were significantly reduced (P<0.05). Both the increase in nuclear accumulation of p53 protein and reduced formation of nitric oxide products may contribute to the reduction in TDs seen with 1,25(OH)2D3 after UVR. Reductions in numbers of sunburn cells (P<0.01) and in TDs (P<0.05) were observed 24 hours after UVR in skin sections from Skh:hr1 mice treated with 1,25(OH)2D3. These results are consistent with the proposal that the vitamin D system in skin may be part of an intrinsic protective mechanism against UV damage.

The actin cytoskeleton is a potentially vulnerable property of cancer cells, yet chemotherapeutic targeting attempts have been hampered by unacceptable toxicity. In this study, we have shown that it is possible to disrupt specific actin filament populations by targeting isoforms of tropomyosin, a core component of actin filaments, that are selectively upregulated in cancers. A novel class of anti-tropomyosin compounds has been developed that preferentially disrupts the actin cytoskeleton of tumor cells, impairing both tumor cell motility and viability. Our lead compound, TR100, is effective in vitro and in vivo in reducing tumor cell growth in neuroblastoma and melanoma models. Importantly, TR100 shows no adverse impact on cardiac structure and function, which is the major side effect of current anti-actin drugs. This proof-of-principle study shows that it is possible to target specific actin filament populations fundamental to tumor cell viability based on their tropomyosin isoform composition. This improvement in specificity provides a pathway to the development of a novel class of anti-actin compounds for the potential treatment of a wide variety of cancers. Cancer Res; 73(16); 5169-82. Ó2013 AACR.

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) can lead to a range of deleterious responses in the skin. An important form of damage is the DNA photolesion cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD). CPDs can be highly mutagenic if not repaired prior to cell division and can lead to UV-induced immunosuppression, making them potentially carcinogenic. UVR exposure also produces vitamin D, a prehormone. Different shapes of the steroid hormone 1a,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 [1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ] can produce biological responses through binding either to its cognate nuclear receptor (VDR) to regulate gene transcription or to the VDR associated with plasma membrane caveolae to produce, via signal transduction, nongenomic physiologic responses. Here, we show that both 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 and 1a,25(OH) 2 -lumisterol (JN), a conformationally restricted analogue that can generate only nongenomic responses, are effective inhibitors of UV damage in an immunocompetent mouse (Skh:hr1) model susceptible to UV-induced tumors. Both 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 and JN significantly reduced UVR-induced CPD, apoptotic sunburn cells, and immunosuppression. Furthermore, these compounds inhibited skin tumor development, both papillomas and squamous cell carcinomas, in these mice. The observed reduction of these UV-induced effects by 1,25 (OH) 2 D 3 and JN suggests a role for these compounds in prevention against skin carcinogenesis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive report of an in vivo long-term biological response generated by chronic dosing with a nongenomic-selective vitamin D steroid.