UV-specific DNA repair recombinant fusion enzyme: a new stable pharmacologically active principle suitable for photoprotection.

Background: UV radiation can produce mutations in skin cells and correlates strongly with the onset of actinic keratoses and basal and squamous cell carcinomas. Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) is a heritable disease characterized by an extreme sensitivity of skin to UV radiation. Recently, studies in cultured cells as well as in XP patients have demonstrated that the recombinant T4 endonuclease V UV-specific endonuclease could enhance repair of UV-induced photoproducts.