Embargoed until Tuesday, February 17, 1998 at 12:30 p.m. EST. Dr. Jouni Uitto will present study results at the 1998 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, Pa.

Jefferson Researchers First to Create Genetically Engineered Mouse to Study Photoaging Transgenic mouse leading to better understanding of how ultraviolet light exposure contributes to skin aging and skin cancer and the development of new, better sunscreens that may prevent both.

Researchers from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, have developed the first transgenic, or genetically altered, mouse used to study the causes and effects of photoaging on human skin. The mouse line, developed by microinjecting fertilized mouse eggs with human elastin promoter DNA, the material which produces skin fibers that promote elasticity, has enabled Jefferson researchers to learn more about how the ultraviolet light rays UVA and UVB cause skin aging and wrinkling.

Study results have also led to new ideas for how sunscreen formulations and other compounds may be designed to block the skin from the dangers of UVB, which many already do, and UVA, which causes skin aging and may play a role in skin cancer but is not blocked as well by traditional sunscreens. These findings will be presented by Jouni Uitto, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman of the department of dermatology and cutaneous biology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, at the 1998 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Philadelphia, on Tuesday, February 17.

Dr. Uitto's presentation, "Molecular Assays for Solar Effects in Skin," will serve as part of a larger seminar, "Sunscreen and Skin Cancer: What's Happening," proposed and organized by Francis Gasparro, Ph.D., research
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Contact: Maria Cerceo or Phyllis Fisher
Maria.Cerceo@mail.tju.edu
215-955-6300
Thomas Jefferson University
17-Feb-1998