Cells with UV-Specific DNA Damage Are Present in Murine Lymph Nodes After In Vivo UV Irradiation

Abstract

Ultraviolet radiation is absorbed in the skin, especially in the epidermis. After ultraviolet irradiation the number of major histocompatibility complex class II+, adenosine triphosphatase+ Langerhans cells and Thy-1+ dendritic epidermal cells in the epidermis decreases. Whether this decrease is due to migration of these cells or to loss of membrane markers is not clear. To address this question we have used the monoclonal antibody H3 directed against cyclobutyl thymine dimers-a form of DNA damage that is specifically induced by ultraviolet radiation-to investigate whether H3+ cells are present in the draining lymph nodes of the skin after ultraviolet irradiation of hairless, inbred mice (HRA/Skh). After a single dose of ultraviolet radiation (Westinghouse FS40, 1.5 kJ/m2), H3+ cells were present in the paracortex of the draining lymph nodes. No positive cells were found in the blood of irradiated mice. These results suggest that the H3+ cells in the lymph nodes originate from the skin. The number of H3+ cells in the draining lymph nodes increased the first 24 h after irradiation and then stabilized. Immunohistochemical double staining revealed that all H3+ cells were major histocompatibility complex II+, and that only a fraction of the cells were NLDC-145 positive. No V gamma 3 T-cell receptor bearing cells could be found in the lymph nodes after UV irradiation of the skin.

Risk assessment for the harmful effects of UVB radiation on the immunological resistance to infectious diseases.

“…For example, the MSLR assay used for the calculation of the IEV primarily accounts for effects of UVB radiation on Langerhans cells in the skin and may also be relevant for systemic effects when the UVB-affected Langerhans cells migrate to the lymph nodes (22). However, the effects measured on MSLR may not always correlate to all effects of UVB exposure on immunological resistance to infectious diseases; UVB radiation can impair immune responses by different pathways, e.g., by impairing Langerhans cells and also by the induction of several cytokines that have local and systemic immunomodulatory effects (29).…”

Oxidation events and skin aging

“…These mutations, preferentially located at methylated CpG sites by solar UV radiation, are also called "solar-UV signature" (Ikehata and Ono, 2007). CPDs are mostly found in the DNA of keratinocytes and Langerhans cells (LC) in the epidermis, but also in dendritic cells (DC) in the lymph nodes that drain the irradiated skin site, at least in mice (Sontag et al, 1995).…”

Transcription-Coupled and Global Genome Repair Differentially Influence UV-B-Induced Acute Skin Effects and Systemic Immunosuppression

“…Cells with DNA damage can migrate from the skin to other sites in the body. The products released by exposed epidermal cells can be transported through the body by the circulation, which may contribute to systemic immunosuppressive effects (15). Kripke and co-workers demonstrated that DNA damage is at least partially involved in local as well as systemic UV-induced immunomodulation.…”