Scientific Reports (Jul 2023)

An immunomodulating peptide to counteract solar radiation-induced immunosuppression and DNA damage

  • Michael Agrez,
  • Mark Stephen Rybchyn,
  • Warusavithana Gunawardena Manori De Silva,
  • Rebecca Sara Mason,
  • Christopher Chandler,
  • Terrence J. Piva,
  • Kristofer Thurecht,
  • Nicholas Fletcher,
  • Feifei Liu,
  • Gayathri Subramaniam,
  • Christopher B. Howard,
  • Benjamin Blyth,
  • Stephen Parker,
  • Darryl Turner,
  • Justyna Rzepecka,
  • Gavin Knox,
  • Anastasia Nika,
  • Andrew Hall,
  • Hayley Gooding,
  • Laura Gallagher

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-38890-4
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 1
pp. 1 – 19

Abstract

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Abstract Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) induces immunosuppression and DNA damage, both of which contribute to the rising global incidence of skin cancer including melanoma. Nucleotide excision repair, which is activated upon UVR-induced DNA damage, is linked to expression of interleukin-12 (IL-12) which serves to limit immunosuppression and augment the DNA repair process. Herein, we report an immunomodulating peptide, designated IK14800, that not only elicits secretion of IL-12, interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) but also reduces DNA damage in the skin following exposure to UVR. Combined with re-invigoration of exhausted CD4+ T cells, inhibition of UVR-induced MMP-1 release and suppression of B16F10 melanoma metastases, IK14800 offers an opportunity to gain further insight into mechanisms underlying the development and progression of skin cancers.