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DNA Repair Activity in the Skin of Day and Night Shift Workers

Pilot Study on DNA Repair Activity in the Skin of Day and Night Shift Workers

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04122456
Enrollment
48
Registered
2019-10-10
Start date
2022-12-07
Completion date
2027-12-01
Last updated
2026-07-17

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Skin Cancer

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to test how the skin of night shift workers responds to artificial sunlight (ultraviolet B radiation; UVB) at two different times of the day in comparison to normal day shift workers. After the skin biopsies are obtained, they will be brought to the laboratory to be exposed to UVB radiation and to measure UVB responses.

Interventions

RADIATIONUltraviolet B Radiation

One skin punch biopsy will be taken to the laboratory for exposure to ultraviolet B radiation. After 1-hour incubation, the biopsies will be bisected in half.

OTHERNo Ultraviolet B Radiation

One skin punch biopsy will be taken to the laboratory and will be kept as a non-irradiated control.

Sponsors

Wright State University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 40 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Male/Female * Fair skin (Fitzpatrick types I and II) * Age 18 to 40 * Able to comprehend procedures/risks * Primarily work and are awake during normal daylight hours (6 am to 6 pm), or primarily work and are awake during night shifts hours (between the hours of 6 pm and 6 am) or may work a mixture of these shifts over the past 3 months. Rotating shifts will be categorized based on the majority of hours worked on average during the last 3 months. Able to fill out a 3-month calendar of work schedule.

Exclusion criteria

* Known photosensitivity * Currently on photosensitizing medications * Diabetes Mellitus * On any hormonal agents (e.g., birth control pills) * History of abnormal scarring * History of skin infections * History of skin cancers * History of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea or insomnia * Known allergy to lidocaine local anesthetic * Pregnancy or nursing * Other serious health issues

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Expression level of the DNA repair factor XPA at two times of the day in the skin of day and night shift workers.After 1 hour incubation from ultraviolet B radiation exposure.Reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and immunohistochemistry will be used to measure XPA expression at the mRNA and protein level, respectively, in skin samples obtained at 8 am and 4 pm.
Expression levels of core clock genes at two times of the day in the skin of day and night shift works.After 1 hour incubation from ultraviolet B radiation exposure.Reverse Transcription Quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) is used to measure the core circadian clock gene expression at the mRNA level in the skin samples obtained at 8 AM and 4 PM.
Activity of the nucleotide excision repair (NER) system at two times of the day in day and night shift workers.After 1 hour incubation from ultraviolet B radiation exposure.A biochemical assay of nucleotide excision repair is used to measure NER in the skin samples obtained at 8 AM and 4 PM.
Activation of DNA damage kinase signaling pathways at two times of the day in the skin of day and night shift workers.After 1 hour incubation from ultraviolet B radiation exposure.Immunohistochemistry is used to measure DNA damage kinase signaling (phosphorylated Chk1 and p53) in the skin samples obtained at 8 AM and 4 PM.

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTManager, Clinical Research Operations
pturesearch@wrightstatephysicians.org937-245-7500
CONTACTRegulatory Specialist
pturesearch@wrightstatephysicians.org937-245-7500
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORJeffrey B Travers, MD, PhD

Wright State University

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jul 18, 2026