Occurrence of neutrophils and activated Th1 cells in UVB-induced erythema

Abstract

We investigated the sequential changes in infiltrating inflammatory cells and several cytokine levels over a period of 48 h in human back skin exposed to 3 minimal erythematous doses of UVB. The measurement of blood flow, using a laser Doppler method, indicated that UVB-induced erythema reached a peak 12-24 h after irradiation. Immunohistochemically, an increase in the number of CD4+ T cells was observed in perivascular areas 6 h after the UVB treatment and continued for up to 48 h. CD8+ T cells were scarce until 24 h, but their numbers gradually increased thereafter. HLA-DR+ cells were detected perivascularly and interstitially in parallel with the pattern of CD4+ T-cell infiltration. In contrast, neutrophils were found 3 h after UVB exposure and reached a peak at 24 h. Using a RT-PCR method, we demonstrated that mRNAs for the Th1 cytokines (interferon-gamma and interleukin-2), together with a proinflammatory cytokine (interleukin-8), became detectable at 6 h, whereas mRNA for the Th2 cytokine (interleukin-4) was not found at all during the first 48 h. In contrast, we found an increase in mRNA levels for C3 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha even at 3 h, suggesting a relationship between complement activation and accumulating neutrophils. Our results suggest that neutrophils and CD4+ T cells in UVB-induced inflammation play different roles: neutrophils are more closely related to UVB-induced erythema, while T cells appear to be involved in subsequent dermal and epidermal inflammation accompanied by epidermal hyperproliferation.