ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine UVB-induced responses in normal human keratinocytes (HaCaT) and epidermoid carcinoma cells (A431) at the cellular and molecular level, and investigated the protective effect of salidroside.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cells irradiated by UVB at various dosage and their viability was assessed by MTT assays, cell cycle was analysed by flow cytometry. The expression of NF-κB, BCL-2, and CDK6 after 50 J/m(2) UVB irradiation were detected by RT-PCR and western blotting.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Our results confirmed greater tolerance of A341 cells to UVB-induced damage such as cell viability and cell cycle arrest, which was accompanied by differential expression changes in NF-κB, BCL-2, and CDK6. UVB exposure resulted in HaCaT cells undergoing G(1)-S phase arrest. When treated with salidroside, HaCaT survival was significantly enhanced following exposure to UVB, suggesting great therapeutic potential for this compound.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Taken together, our study suggests that A431 respond differently to UVB than normal HaCaT cells, and supports a role for NF-κB, CDK6, and BCL-2 in UVB-induced cell G(1)-S phase arrest. Furthermore, salidroside can effectively protect HaCaT from UVB irradiation.</p>