The association between personal sun exposure, serum vitamin D and global methylation in human lymphocytes in a population of healthy adults in South Australia

Abstract Background There is a positive association between solar UV exposure and micronucleus frequency in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and this association may be stronger when serum vitamin D (25(OH)D) levels are insufficient ( Method Personal solar UV exposure was estimated from hours of outdoor exposure over 6 weeks recalled at the time of blood collection in 208 male and female participants living in South Australia. Methylation in LINE-1 repetitive elements was assessed in PBL using pyrosequencing. Results Methylation in LINE-1 decreased with increasing solar UV exposure (% decrease = 0.5% per doubling of sUV; 95%CI: −0.7 to −0.2 p value  = 0.00003). Although there was no correlation between LINE-1 methylation and micronucleus frequency, there was a 4.3% increase (95%CI: 0.6–8.1 p -value = 0.02) in nucleoplasmic bridges and a 4.3% increase in necrosis (CI: 1.9–6.8 p -value = 0.0005) for every 1% increase in LINE-1 methylation. Serum 25(OH)D was not associated with DNA methylation; or did it modify the association of solar UV with DNA methylation. Conclusion Exposure to solar UV radiation may reduce DNA methylation in circulating lymphocytes. This association does not appear to be influenced or mediated by vitamin D status.