UV-INDUCED FACTOR FOR IMMUNOSUPPRESSION

摘要

A UV-INDUCED FACTOR FOR IMMUNOSUPPRESSION The present invention comprises the method of selectively suppressing an immune response of a mammal to a particular alloantigen. The method includes several steps. One step is administering to a mammal an effective amount of UVB-radiation. Epidermal cell cultures, when subjected to UVA or UVB irradiation produce specific immunosuppressive factors. This UV -radiation is preferably UVA radiation (320 nm to 400 nm), or UVBradiation (280 nm to 320 nm). It is demonstrated herein that W A radiation results in n vitro cells producing a factor which selectively suppresses the CHS response in mammals, while UVB radiation selectively suppresses the DTH response in mammals. Another step of the inventive method involves desensitizing a mammal to a particular alloantigen. It has been determined that a mammal will become tolerant to a particular alloantigen once the subject mammal has been irradiated with a pre-determined wavelength of UVR and thereafter sensitized with the particular alloantigen. This may analogously be accomplished using factors from in vitro epidermal cell cultures.