¹Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Correspondence: Dr Vivienne E. Reeve, Faculty of Veterinary Science, McMaster Building, B14, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia. E-mail: v.reeve@vetp.usyd.edu.au

Received 27 May 2005; Revised 16 August 2005; Accepted 23 August 2005.

Abstract

The immunomodulating properties of UVA radiation remain controversial. Here, we demonstrate in female inbred Skh:hr-1 mice that single subinflammatory UVA exposures between 1.61 and 580.5 kJ/m² are not immunosuppressive. Furthermore, UVA exposures between 16.13 and 580.5 kJ/m² provided dose-related immunoprotection against UVB-induced immunosuppression. Higher UVA exposures (870.8–1,161 kJ/m²) became inflammatory and immunosuppressive alone, and lost the photoimmunoprotective capacity. We previously reported that UVA photoimmunoprotection depends on the induction of cutaneous heme oxygenase-1, particularly its enzymatic product, carbon monoxide (CO). CO was suggested to activate cutaneous guanylyl cyclase (GC), as the specific GC inhibitor, 1H-(1,2,4)oxadiazolo-(4,3-a)quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), abrogated CO photoimmunoprotection in the mouse. This study shows that cutaneous cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) concentration increased only following immunoprotective UVA doses, or immunoprotective topical CO treatment, and cGMP production was inhibited by ODQ. Conversely, cGMP concentration was increased by inhibition of its degradative phosphodiesterase (PDE) with topical sildenafil. The PDE-5 isoform was identified in normal mouse skin. Subsequently, a moderate concentration of sildenafil was shown to simulate the effect of UVA in protecting against photoimmunosuppression by solar-simulated UV radiation or its mediator cis-urocanic acid. Thus, cutaneous cGMP, controlled by its synthesis via CO-activated GC and its degradation by PDE-5, is strongly associated with UVA photoimmunoprotection.