Article

Gender differences in UV-induced inflammation and immunosuppression in mice reveal male unresponsiveness to UVA radiation.

Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.
Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences (impact factor: 2.58). 01/2012; 11(1):173-9. DOI:10.1039/c1pp05224a pp.173-9
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Immunosuppression attributed mainly to the UVB (290-320 nm) waveband is a prerequisite for skin cancer development in mice and humans. The contribution of UVA (320-400 nm) is controversial, but in mice UVA irradiation has been found to antagonise immunosuppression by UVB. In other studies of photoimmune regulation, protection mediated via oestrogen receptor-β signalling was identified as a normal endogenous defence in mice, and was shown to depend on UVA irradiation. A gender bias in photoimmune responsiveness was thus suggested, and is tested in this study by comparing the UV-induced inflammatory and immune responses in male and female hairless mice. We report that male mice, which show greater skin thickness than females, developed a less intense but slower resolving sunburn inflammatory oedema, correlated with reduced epidermal expression of pro-inflammatory IL-6 than females following solar simulated UV (SSUV, 290-400 nm) exposure. On the other hand, the contact hypersensitivity reaction (CHS) was more severely suppressed by SSUV in males, correlated with increased epidermal expression of immunosuppressive IL-10. Exposure to the UVB waveband alone, or to cis-urocanic acid, suppressed CHS equally in males and females. However, whereas UVA irradiation induced immunoprotection against either UVB or cis-urocanic acid in females, this protection was significantly reduced or abrogated in males. The results indicate that males are compromised by a relative unresponsiveness to the photoimmune protective effects of UVA, alone or as a component of SSUV. This could explain the known gender bias in skin cancer development in both mice and humans.

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Keywords

antagonise immunosuppression
 
contact hypersensitivity reaction
 
female hairless mice
 
females
 
immune responses
 
immunosuppressive IL-10
 
known gender bias
 
mice UVA irradiation
 
normal endogenous defence
 
oestrogen receptor-β signalling
 
photoimmune protective effects
 
pro-inflammatory IL-6
 
show greater skin thickness
 
skin cancer development
 
solar simulated UV
 
sunburn inflammatory oedema
 
suppressed CHS
 
UV-induced inflammatory
 
UVA irradiation
 
UVA irradiation induced immunoprotection
 

Vivienne E Reeve