title: Cis-urocanic acid as a mediator of ultraviolet-light-induced immunosuppression.
abstract: Treatment of an organism with UVB light or PUVA (8-methoxypsoralen + UVA light) not only leads to alterations in the irradiated skin but also to systemic immunomodulation, due to the release of several chemical mediators of immunosuppression like prostaglandins, acute-phase proteins, IL-1 inhibitor, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, propiomelanocorticotropin or other cytokines. A recently described mediator is urocanic acid, which is transformed by UV light in the skin from the trans- to the cis-isomer and that exerts a systemic immunomodulatory effect. In our experiments, treatment with PUVA or with cis-urocanic acid prevents the rejection of rat heart allografts in 50% and 40% of cases, respectively. Control grafts are rejected in fewer than 10 days. PUVA treatment of donor leukocytes before transfusion into the prospective recipient inhibits only their sensitizing, not their graft-protecting, effect on subsequent skin grafts in mice. PUVA treatment also prevents acute lethal GVH disease in mice after irradiation with a sublethal dose of x-rays and transfusion of semiallogeneic spleen cells. Treatment of recipient mice with cis-urocanic acid has the same effect. The humoral immune response to sheep erythrocytes is not influenced by cis-urocanic acid. These results demonstrate that PUVA treatment or its chemical mediator, cis-urocanic acid, may be used in transplantation and hematology as naturally occurring immunosuppressive agents, especially for the control and manipulation of GVH leukemia reaction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine (Charité), Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gruner
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Oesterwitz
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stoppe
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Henke
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sönnichsen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011701:PUVA Therapy; D013237:Stereoisomerism; D014560:Urocanic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014560:Urocanic Acid