UV-B irradiation increases susceptibility of mice to malarial infection

We here examined whether exposure of mice to UV-B affected their susceptibility to the murine malaria parasite Plasmodium chabaudi. When BALB/c mice with depilated skin were irradiated with UV-B and subsequently infected with the parasite, 80 to 100% of the UV-B-irradiated mice died within 12 days of infection with a sublethal dose. In addition, UV-B irradiation of C57BL/10 (B-10) mice, which are otherwise naturally resistant to the parasites, rendered them susceptible, and 100% of irradiated B-10 mice died within 11 days postinfection. The level of plasma gamma interferon (IFN-gamma) in unirradiated B-10 mice at 5 days after infection increased to 566 pg/ml, whereas the UV-B exposure of mice impaired the production of IFN-gamma, which showed a maximum level of 65 pg/ml in response to the parasite infection. The maximum level of plasma interleukin-10 in UV-B-irradiated mice in response to the parasite infection was approximately 1,100 pg/ml, which was approximately fourfold higher than the maximum level in unirradiated control mice. When UV-B-irradiated B-10 mice were administered murine recombinant IFN-gamma after infection, the mice regained parasite resistance. These results demonstrated that the UV-B exposure of mice enhances the susceptibility to the malaria parasites and suggested that the enhanced susceptibility following UV-B exposure was mediated by impairment of IFN-gamma production in response to the parasite infection.