The effect of UV-B on the immune responses with the skin cells of the rat

The effect of UV-B radiation on immune responses was evaluated by radiation of rat spleen and skin epidermal cells in vitro. The radiation deteriorated the immune responses without influencing the viability of the irradiated cells. The mitogenic blastogenesis of the spleen cells was inhibited. The stimulatory effect of the spleen and skin cells was inhibited in mixed lymphocyte cultures. The cytotoxicity of spleen cells was decreased. The susceptibility of target skin cells to natural cytotoxicity was decreased. Therefore, UV-B radiation causes changes in the cell membrane resulting in the inhibition of immune responses. (author)