title: IL-3 production as an in vitro marker of the genetically determined traits of UVB susceptibility and UVB resistance.
abstract: The capacity of low-dose ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation to disrupt epidermal Langerhans cell function and to prevent the induction of contact hypersensitivity (CH) is genetically determined in mice and men. In mice, Tnf alpha and Lps are the genetic loci at which reside alleles that dictate susceptibility and resistance to the deleterious effect of UVB radiation. Detection of the UVB-susceptibility (UVB-S) and UVB-resistance (UVB-R) traits relies upon the in vivo end point of contact hypersensitivity, and is cumbersome, labor intensive, and time consuming. It has recently been reported that hapten-immune murine T cells can secrete interleukin-3 (IL-3) in vitro when exposed to hapten-derivatized syngeneic stimulator cells. To determine whether this assay might be useful in distinguishing UVB-R from UVB-S mice, panels of UVB-susceptible (C57BL/10, C3H/HeN) and UVB-resistant (A/J, BALB/c, C3H/HeJ) mice were sensitized epicutaneously with dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB). When challenged in vitro 6 d later with dinitrophenyl-derivatized stimulator cells, T cells from all strains proliferated and secreted IL-3. Moreover, T cells from UVB-R mice that were sensitized through UVB-treated skin also made copious amounts of IL-3. However, T cells from UVB-S mice whose abdominal skin had been UVB irradiated prior to epicutaneous application of DNFB failed to secrete IL-3 in vitro, although the cells did proliferate. We conclude that following application of a sensitizing dose of hapten to UVB-exposed skin of UVB-S mice a) hapten-specific T cells are selectively unable to secrete IL-3 in vitro in response to hapten stimulation, and b) this inability is a reliable marker of the UVB-S trait. The IL-3 assay may prove useful in elucidating the mechanism by which UVB-exposed Langerhans cells activate regulatory T cells, and in detecting the UVB-S and UVB-R traits in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101.
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Streilein
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kurimoto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mammolenti
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003877:Dermatitis, Contact / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000532:radiotherapy; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007801:Langerhans Cells / Q000528:radiation effects; D051379:Mice; D011831:Radiation Genetics; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D007377:Interleukin-3