Modulation of Base Excision Repair Alters Cellular Sensitivity to UVA1 but not to UVB¶

Abstract Oxidative DNA damage has been implicated in some of the biological properties of UVA but so far not in the acute photosensitivity or cellular sensitivity. In contrast to pyrimidine dimers, oxidative DNA damage is predominantly processed by base excision repair (BER). In order to further clarify the role of oxidative DNA damage and its repair in the acute cellular response to UV light, we studied UVA1 and UVB sensitivities in three different cell model systems with modified BER. 8-Oxoguanine-DNA-glycosylase 1–/– (OGG1–/–) mouse embryonal fibroblasts and human fibroblasts in which BER was inhibited by incubation with methoxyamine were hypersensitive to UVA1, in particular to low dose…