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Neonatal sunburn and melanoma in mice

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Severe sunburn in newborn, but not adult, mice is linked with melanoma in later life.

Abstract

Retrospective epidemiological data have indicated that cutaneous malignant melanoma may arise as a consequence of intense, intermittent exposure of the skin to ultraviolet radiation, particularly in children, rather than from the cumulative lifetime exposure that is associated with other forms of skin cancer1,2,3. Here we use a genetically engineered mouse model to show that a single dose of burning ultraviolet radiation to neonates, but not adults, is necessary and sufficient to induce tumours with high penetrance which are reminiscent of human melanoma. Our results provide experimental support for epidemiological evidence that childhood sunburn poses a significant risk of developing this potentially fatal disease.

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Figure 1: HGF/SF-transgenic mice develop tumours reminiscent of cutaneous malignant melanoma in response to neonatal erythemal ultraviolet (UV) irradiation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Dermatology and Immunology, Laboratory of Photobiology and Photoimmunology, George Washington University Medical School, Washington DC, 20037, USA

    Frances P. Noonan & Edward C. De Fabo

  2. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, 20892-4255, Maryland, USA

    Juan A. Recio, Hisashi Takayama & Glenn Merlino

  3. Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, 20892, Maryland, USA

    Paul Duray

  4. Pathology/Histotechnology Laboratory, Science Applications International Corp., National Cancer Institute at Frederick, 21702-1201, Maryland, USA

    Miriam R. Anver

  5. Department of Dermatopathology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington DC, 20306, USA

    Walter L. Rush

Authors
  1. Frances P. Noonan
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  2. Juan A. Recio
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  3. Hisashi Takayama
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  4. Paul Duray
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  5. Miriam R. Anver
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  6. Walter L. Rush
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  7. Edward C. De Fabo
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  8. Glenn Merlino
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Glenn Merlino.

Supplementary information

Table 1. Tumors and early proliferative melanocytic lesions initiated by UV exposure of HGF/SF neonatal mice
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Noonan, F., Recio, J., Takayama, H. et al. Neonatal sunburn and melanoma in mice. Nature 413, 271–272 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/35095108

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