10.03.23
Ultraviolet radiation can cause cancer. The suncare industry has warned of the dangers of UVA and UVB rays for decades. Now, it's an issue in the nailcare business, too. According to results of a study published in Nature Communications, irradiation by a UV-nail polish dryer causes high levels of reactive oxygen species, consistent with 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine damage and mitochondrial dysfunction.
According to researchers at the University of California-San Diego, this study demonstrates that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers can both damage DNA and permanently engrave mutations on the genomes of primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts, human foreskin fibroblasts, and human epidermal keratinocytes. More specifically, in all cell line models, a single 20-minute irradiation resulted in 20–30% cell death, while three consecutive 20-minute exposures caused between 65% and 70% cell death.
The devices are a common fixture in nail salons, and generally use a particular spectrum of UV light (340-395nm) to cure the chemicals used in gel manicures. While tanning beds use a different spectrum of UV light (280-400nm) that studies have conclusively proven to be carcinogenic, the spectrum used in the nail dryers has not been well studied.
“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about,” said Ludmil Alexandrov, a professor of bioengineering as well as cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego, and corresponding author of the study published earlier this year in Nature Communications. “But to the best of our knowledge, no one has actually studied these devices and how they affect human cells at the molecular and cellular levels until now.”
Exposure to the UV light mirrored patterns that can be observed in skin cancer in humans.
“We saw multiple things: first, we saw that DNA gets damaged,” said Alexandrov. “ We also saw that some of the DNA damage does not get repaired over time, and it does lead to mutations after every exposure with a UV-nail polish dryer. Lastly, we saw that exposure may cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which may also result in additional mutations. We looked at patients with skin cancers, and we see the exact same patterns of mutations in these patients that were seen in the irradiated cells.”
The researchers caution that, while the results show the harmful effects of the repeated use of these devices on human cells, a long-term epidemiological study would be required before stating conclusively that using these machines leads to an increased risk of skin cancers. However, the results of the study were clear: the chronic use of these nail polish drying machines is damaging to human cells.
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According to researchers at the University of California-San Diego, this study demonstrates that radiation emitted by UV-nail polish dryers can both damage DNA and permanently engrave mutations on the genomes of primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts, human foreskin fibroblasts, and human epidermal keratinocytes. More specifically, in all cell line models, a single 20-minute irradiation resulted in 20–30% cell death, while three consecutive 20-minute exposures caused between 65% and 70% cell death.
The devices are a common fixture in nail salons, and generally use a particular spectrum of UV light (340-395nm) to cure the chemicals used in gel manicures. While tanning beds use a different spectrum of UV light (280-400nm) that studies have conclusively proven to be carcinogenic, the spectrum used in the nail dryers has not been well studied.
“If you look at the way these devices are presented, they are marketed as safe, with nothing to be concerned about,” said Ludmil Alexandrov, a professor of bioengineering as well as cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego, and corresponding author of the study published earlier this year in Nature Communications. “But to the best of our knowledge, no one has actually studied these devices and how they affect human cells at the molecular and cellular levels until now.”
Exposure to the UV light mirrored patterns that can be observed in skin cancer in humans.
“We saw multiple things: first, we saw that DNA gets damaged,” said Alexandrov. “ We also saw that some of the DNA damage does not get repaired over time, and it does lead to mutations after every exposure with a UV-nail polish dryer. Lastly, we saw that exposure may cause mitochondrial dysfunction, which may also result in additional mutations. We looked at patients with skin cancers, and we see the exact same patterns of mutations in these patients that were seen in the irradiated cells.”
The researchers caution that, while the results show the harmful effects of the repeated use of these devices on human cells, a long-term epidemiological study would be required before stating conclusively that using these machines leads to an increased risk of skin cancers. However, the results of the study were clear: the chronic use of these nail polish drying machines is damaging to human cells.
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