"Our study shows that human skin stem cells possess an internal clock that allows them to very accurately know the time of day and helps them know when it is best to perform the correct function," said study author, Salvador Aznar Benitah, Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) Research Professor.
"This is important because it seems that tissues need an accurate internal clock to remain healthy," Benitah said.
Benitah and his collaborators previously found that animals lacking normal circadian rhythms in skin stem cells age prematurely, suggesting that these cyclical patterns can protect against cellular damage.
But until now, it has not been clear how circadian rhythms affect the functions of human skin stem cells.
To address this question, Benitah teamed up with his collaborators Luis Serrano and Ben Lehner of the Centre for Genomic Regulation.
Genes involved in UV protection become most active during the daytime to guard these cells while they proliferate - that is, when they duplicate their DNA and are more susceptible to radiation-induced damage.
"We know that the clock is gradually disrupted in aged mice and humans, and we know that preventing stem cells from accurately knowing the time of the day reduces their regenerative capacity," Benitah said.
"Our current efforts lie in trying to identify the causes underlying the disruption of the clock of human skin stem cells and hopefully find means to prevent or delay it," Benitah said.