Prevention of solar UV-induced skin cancer by targeting LTA4H

Skin cancer is the most common human cancer and the number one cancer in terms of incidence in the USA. Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation in solar light elicits various biological responses in the skin, including inflammation, pigmentation, erythema, and cell death, and therefore the role of UV light as a major etiologic factor is of particular concern. The use of sunscreens or sun blocks has not been effective in preventing skin cancer, and therefore new mechanism-based approaches are critically needed to treat UV-induced skin cancer. This project is aimed toward investigating the role of leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H) in solar ultraviolet (UV) - induced skin carcinogenesis. LTA4H was shown to exhibit high levels of protein expression in certain types of cancers and its inhibition leads to a reduced cancer incidence in various animal models. Importantly, our preliminary data indicate that suppressing LTA4H expression and activity decreases skin carcinogenesis in the 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis model. We also reported that [6]-gingerol or resveratrol binds with LTA4H to suppress colon or pancreatic cancer cell growth, respectively, in vivo. We hypothesize that inhibition of LTA4H by [6]-gingerol or resveratrol will result in suppression of solar UV-induced skin carcinogenesis.