Effects of Ultraviolet-B Exposure on the Resistance to Listeria monocytogenes in the Rat |
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| Authors: | Wim Goettsch Johan Garssen Arja de Klerk Tineke M P T Herremans Paul Dortant Frank R de Gruijl Henk Van Loveren |
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| Institution: | National institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands;Department of Dermatology, Utrecht University, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | A rat infection model using the bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes was employed to analyze the im-munosuppressive activity of UVB radiation. Rats were exposed to suberythemal doses of UVB radiation for 5 or 7 consecutive days, using Kromayer or FS40 lamps respectively. Subsequently, the rats were infected subcuta-neously or intravenously with Listeria . Exposure to UVB resulted in an increased number of bacteria in the spleen 4 days after infection. Listeria -specific lymphocyte proliferation assays as well as delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions demonstrated that T cell-mediated immunity to Listeria was impaired by UVB as measured 4 and 8 days after infection. In addition, UVB exposure decreased phagocytotic activity of peripheral blood macrophages. This study demonstrated that suberythemal doses of UVB radiation caused a delay in the clearance of Listeria bacteria from the spleen of the rats and that this was probably caused by impaired nonspecific phagocytosis of Listeria by macrophages in addition to an impaired activity of Listeria -specific T cells. |
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