Shining light on the potential biomarkers of UV exposure
May 30, 2025 | Bharti Dharapuram
A recent database compiles existing information on changes in biomolecules after UV exposure, which can help in identifying early biomarkers and disease mechanisms. The schematic figure above shows the different analysis steps involved in the study.
A recent database of the molecular effects of UV exposure promises to be more than skin deep. It compiles information about biomolecules induced after UV exposure and identifies the metabolic and disease pathways associated with them. In the future, this database can help scientists identify early biomarkers of UV exposure, reveal disease mechanisms, and develop better UV protection.
When sunlight falls on our skin, we are exposed to the ultraviolet rays present in it, which can lead to long-term effects like aging and cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these adverse effects are not well understood. To address this, a recent study has collated an online database of over a thousand molecules influenced by UV exposure using existing studies in humans and rodents. Unlike other databases, it also carries details of the associated experimental conditions. The work is led by Shanmuga Priya Baskaran and Janani Ravichandran, along with colleagues in Areejit Samal’s research group at The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai.
UV radiation has the shortest wavelength in the spectrum of light coming from the sun. From sunscreen labels, we may be familiar with ‘UVA’ and ‘UVB’ components that reach us, while ‘UVC’ is blocked by the ozone layer. While these waves have some biological benefits, long-term exposure causes skin aging and is associated with cancer. These adverse effects are mediated by changes in gene expression, and levels of proteins and other molecules involved in chemical pathways within cells. While many studies have looked into specific effects of UV, we lack a single resource summarising all of these biomolecules along with the related experimental details.
“The motivation of the study was to identify early biomarkers of UV exposure and list the conditions which induce changes in them,” says Shanmuga Priya, one of the lead authors of the study. The researchers created the UVREK (UltraViolet Radiation Expression Knowledgebase) database by systematically combing through 320 published articles and collating information of over 1500 biomolecules that respond to UV exposure. They enriched this data with information about the study organism, cell or tissue type studied, and experimental details related to dosage and sampling conditions. Finally, they explored the role of the genes within this database in biological processes and pathogenesis, and studied interactions between them using network analysis.
Most of the studies in the database are on humans and investigate the effects of UV exposure on the skin. The database contains information on 985 genes, 470 proteins, 54 metabolites and 77 microRNAs that respond to UV radiation. Further analysis indicates that many of the genes are associated with transcription and overlap with several disease pathways, including cancer. The researchers identified clusters of interconnected genes involved in protein synthesis, which change their levels in response to UV exposure.
“This database has extensive metadata about sampling time and dosage. This will help researchers identify potential biomarkers that are induced at specific time intervals after UV exposure,” Shanmuga Priya says.
Reference: Baskaran, S. P., Ravichandran, J., Shree, P., Thengumthottathil, V., Karthikeyan, B. S., & Samal, A. (2025). UVREK: Development and analysis of an expression profile knowledgebase of biomolecules induced by ultraviolet radiation exposure. ACS Omega, 10(2), 1927–1942. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.4c06708
