Bmal1 controls circadian cell proliferation and susceptibility to UVB-induced DNA damage in the epidermis [telogen].

While several physiological skin parameters vary in a circadian manner, the identity of genes participating in chronobiology of skin remains unknown, leading us to define the circadian transcriptome of mouse skin at two different stages of the hair cycle, telogen and anagen. The circadian transcriptomes of telogen and anagen skin are largely distinct, with the former dominated by genes involved in cell proliferation and metabolism. The expression of many metabolic genes is antiphasic to cell cycle related genes, the former peaking during the day and the latter peaking at the night. Consistently, accumulation of reactive oxygen species, a byproduct of oxidative phosphorylation, and S-phase are antiphasic to each other in telogen skin. Furthermore, the circadian variation in S-phase is controlled by BMAL1 intrinsic to keratinocytes as keratinocyte-specific deletion of Bmal1 obliterates time of day dependent synchronicity of cell division in the epidermis leading to a constitutively elevated cell proliferation. Consistent with higher cellular susceptibility to UV-induced DNA damage during S phase, we found that mice are most sensitive to UVB-induced DNA damage in the epidermis at night. As maximum numbers of keratinocytes go through S phase in the late afternoon in the human epidermis, we speculate that in humans the circadian clock imposes regulation of epidermal cell proliferation such that skin is at a particularly vulnerable stage during times of maximum UV exposure, thus contributing to the high incidence of human skin cancers.

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Geyfman M, Kumar V, Liu Q, Ruiz R, Gordon W, Espitia F, Cam E, Millar SE, Smyth P, Ihler A, Takahashi JS, Andersen B