{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T06:53:46Z","timestamp":1791010426853,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":7,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790899200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/termsAndConditions#vor"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790899200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100009619","name":"Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100009619","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000268","name":"Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["BB\/Y003233\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["BB\/Y003233\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000268","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Pigment Cell Melanoma Res"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Melanin, particularly eumelanin, is a key determinant of cutaneous photoprotection, yet its influence on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) stability remains poorly understood. This study investigated whether pigmentation is associated with somatic mtDNA variant burden and heteroplasmy in chronically photoexposed human skin. Targeted mitochondrial sequencing was performed on paired photoexposed forearm and photoprotected buttock biopsies from six aged male participants (three Black African and three White Northern European). Twenty\u2010one high\u2010confidence somatic mtDNA variants were identified. Photoexposed light skin possessed six\u2010fold more variants than dark skin and exhibited a broader spectrum of variant classes, including single nucleotide variants, insertions, deletions, and dinucleotide substitutions. Light skin was enriched for C&gt;T transitions and CC&gt;TT dinucleotide substitutions, recognised signatures of chronic ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure, whereas dark skin displayed a more restricted variant profile dominated by a recurrent T414G substitution. Variants in light skin affected multiple oxidative phosphorylation genes and frequently reached moderate\u2010to\u2010high heteroplasmy, while dark skin contained predominantly low\u2010impact variants with substantially lower heteroplasmy overall. These findings indicate that darker pigmentation is associated with reduced accumulation and clonal expansion of somatic mtDNA variants in chronically photoexposed skin. The results extend the recognised photoprotective effects associated with darker skin pigmentation beyond preservation of nuclear DNA and suggest that enhanced mitochondrial genomic stability may contribute to the greater resistance of darkly pigmented skin to UVR\u2010induced photoageing.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1111\/pcmr.70123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T06:37:40Z","timestamp":1791009460000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Skin Pigmentation Associates With Reduced mtDNA Variant Burden in Photoexposed Skin"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"39","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8751-1425","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bezaleel","family":"Mambwe","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Dermatology Research, School of Biological Sciences The University of Manchester  Manchester UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9567-9586","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Abigail K.","family":"Langton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Dermatology Research, School of Biological Sciences The University of Manchester  Manchester UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"e_1_2_1_8_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1093\/mutage\/gep061","article-title":"How Mitochondria Record the Effects of UV Exposure and Oxidative Stress Using Human Skin as a Model Tissue","volume":"25","author":"Birch\u2010Machin M. A.","year":"2010","journal-title":"Mutagenesis"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_1_8_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"557","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1474-9726.2007.00310.x","article-title":"Ultraviolet Radiation Exposure Accelerates the Accumulation of the Aging\u2010Dependent T414G Mitochondrial DNA Mutation in Human Skin","volume":"6","author":"Birket M. J.","year":"2007","journal-title":"Aging Cell"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_1_8_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1111\/php.12377","article-title":"UV Signature Mutations","volume":"91","author":"Brash D. E.","year":"2015","journal-title":"Photochemistry and Photobiology"},{"key":"e_1_2_1_8_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"539","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1751-1097.2007.00226.x","article-title":"The Protective Role of Melanin Against UV Damage in Human Skin","volume":"84","author":"Brenner M.","year":"2008","journal-title":"Photochemistry and Photobiology"},{"issue":"6","key":"e_1_2_1_8_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3143","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22063143","article-title":"Melanin Distribution in Human Skin: Influence of Cytoskeletal, Polarity, and Centrosome\u2010Related Machinery of Stratum Basale Keratinocytes","volume":"22","author":"Castellano\u2010Pellicena I.","year":"2021","journal-title":"International Journal of Molecular Sciences"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_1_8_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"779","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jid.2018.10.026","article-title":"Aging in Skin of Color: Disruption to Elastic Fiber Organization Is Detrimental to Skin's Biomechanical Function","volume":"139","author":"Langton A. K.","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Investigative Dermatology"},{"issue":"22","key":"e_1_2_1_8_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms262210918","article-title":"A Non\u2010Invasive Approach to Intracellular Measurement in Solar Lentigo: Investigating Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Senescence Mechanisms Associated With Excessive Melanin Deposition","volume":"26","author":"Nurani A. M.","year":"2025","journal-title":"International Journal of Molecular Sciences"}],"container-title":["Pigment Cell &amp; Melanoma Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/pcmr.70123","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1111\/pcmr.70123","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1111\/pcmr.70123","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,3]],"date-time":"2026-10-03T06:37:42Z","timestamp":1791009462000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/pcmr.70123"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]]},"references-count":7,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1111\/pcmr.70123"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/pcmr.70123","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1755-1471","1755-148X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1755-1471","type":"print"},{"value":"1755-148X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-07-20","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-09-28","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-10-02","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70123"}}