sq-23377 and octylmethoxycinnamate

Chemical ultraviolet light absorbers (UV-filters) are nowadays widely used in cosmetic and plastic industry. Recent in vitro and in vivo studies have reported that certain chemical UV-filters possess estrogenic activity raising the question of whether these compounds are safe to human health. Work on estrogenic effects of these compounds, however, has focused mostly on reproductive organs, and as the presence of estrogen receptors has been identified in several cells of the immune system, UV screens also may have a great impact on immunity. Thus, we have studied the in vitro effects of two widely used UV-filters--benzophenone-2 (BP-2) and octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)--on the production of interferon (IFN)-gamma and interleukin (IL)-10, two cytokines representing Th1- and Th2-type response, respectively, by activated murine splenocytes. Cells were cultured on 48-well plastic plates and stimulated with 12-miristate 13-acetate (PMA) (5 ng/ml) and ionomycin (50 ng/ml) in the presence of different concentrations (10-5-10-8M) of the studied substances or 17beta-estradiol (E2). After 48 hr incubation the supernatants were collected and the levels of IFN-gamma and IL-10 were measured using immunoenzymatic assay. Our results show that BP-2 and OMC at high concentrations (10-5M) shifted the Th1/Th2 balance toward a Th2 response (lower IFN-gamma production and higher IL-10). These effects were comparable to those of E2. Our results clearly show that UV-screens at high doses also may possess immunomodulatory effects some of which resemble those of E2.

Topics: Animals; Benzophenones; Cell Survival; Cells, Cultured; Cinnamates; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Estradiol; Interferon-gamma; Interleukin-10; Ionomycin; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Spleen; Sunscreening Agents; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate; Th1 Cells; Th2 Cells