Why your skin stops tanning right after sunburn
ATM signaling delays skin pigmentation upon UV exposure by mediating MITF function towards DNA repair mode.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
MITF, the master regulator of pigmentation, is hijacked by the DNA repair system to stop making melanin.
People assume MITF only controls color—this shows it’s a dual-purpose protein that can be repurposed mid-crisis, like a firefighter switching from putting out fires to rescuing people.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t assume more tan = more protection—your skin may be pausing pigment to repair DNA, and forcing more tan could compromise that.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
MITF, the master regulator of pigmentation, is hijacked by the DNA repair system to stop making melanin.
People assume MITF only controls color—this shows it’s a dual-purpose protein that can be repurposed mid-crisis, like a firefighter switching from putting out fires to rescuing people.
Practical Takeaways
Don’t assume more tan = more protection—your skin may be pausing pigment to repair DNA, and forcing more tan could compromise that.
Publication
Journal
The Journal of investigative dermatology
Year
2023
Authors
Nadav Elkoshi, S. Parikh, Hagar Malcov-Brog, Roma Parikh, P. Manich, Francesca Netti, Avishai Maliah, Hana Elkoshi, M. Haj, Ido Rippin, J. Frand, Tomer Perluk, Rivi Haiat-Factor, T. Golan, Neta Regev‐Rudzki, Edo Kiper, R. Brenner, Pinchas Gonen, I. Dror, Hagai Levi, Ofir Hameiri, Mazal Cohen-Gulkar, H. Eldar-Finkelman, G. Ast, E. Nizri, Y. Ziv, Ran Elkon, M. Khaled, Y. Ebenstein, Y. Shiloh, Carmit Levy
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Claims (4)
Ultraviolet radiation exposure induces melanin production as a protective response, but this process simultaneously causes cumulative DNA damage in skin cells, leading to photoaging and increased risk of skin cancer.
After you get sunburned, your skin temporarily stops making tan pigment because a protein called ATM redirects another protein (MITF) to fix DNA damage instead of making color.
After sun exposure, a chemical tag (phosphate) is added to a protein called MITF, making it stop making pigment and instead team up with other proteins to fix DNA damage.
If you block the ATM protein in skin, the skin tans more after sun exposure because it can’t pause pigment production to fix DNA damage.