Ultraviolet radiation may be divided into the non-solar UVC region, the solar UVB (290-320 nm) region which is strongly absorbed by nucleic acids, and the solar UVA (320-380 nm) region which is less strongly absorbed by nucleic acids and proteins but causes a variety of oxidative events. As a consequence of these different properties, UVC/UVB radiations induce an array of stress proteins quite distinct from those induced by UVA radiations. Although many studies with UVC and UVB radiations involve lethal doses, it is clear that these radiations have the property of mimicking growth factor responses and stimulate various signal transduction pathways that lead to gene activation including transcriptional activation of the jun and fos proto-oncogenes. Furthermore, UVB irradiation of skin, at physiologically relevant doses can increase the levels of various stress proteins including ornithine decarboxylase, various cytokines, the p53 tumor suppressor protein and to a limited extent, nuclear oncogene products. Non-cytoxic exposures of UVA radiation can lead to the up-regulation of several genes including collagenase, heme oxygenase 1, a specific protein phosphatase (CL 100) and phospholipases. At least for heme oxygenase 1, there is evidence that the alteration may be involved in a pathway of defense against oxidative stress. However, much information is lacking in the quest to build up a complete picture of the physiological and pathological significance of the many UV inducible stress responses reported.