The effect of high and low ultraviolet-B dose exposure on the degree of hairless mouse skin wrinkling.

Chronic exposure of hairless mice to ultraviolet light (UVB 290-320 nm) causes degradative changes in the dermal matrix and wrinkle production. We compared the effects of two different UVB dosing regimens on wrinkle production and dermal damage in female Skh:HR-1 hairless mice using a bank of unfiltered FS-40 lamps. One group of mice, the low dose group, was exposed to a sub-erythemal UVB dose of 12 mJ/cm2 (1 MED = 14 mJ/cm2), 3 times per week for 20 weeks (total dose = 0.72 J/cm2). A second group, the high dose group, was exposed also 3 times per week for 15 weeks to a UVB dose which started with the sub-erythemal dose of 12 mJ/cm2 at Week 1, and 1 MED at week 2. The dose was then increased weekly by 1 MED until reaching 4 MED at week 5. The animals were then dosed at 4 MED for 10 additional weeks (total dose = 2.1 J/cm2). Visual results indicate that, as expected, within the same group, the degree of wrinkling was generally dependent on the total UVB dose administered. However, comparison between the low dose and high dose groups shows that equal cumulative UVB doses did not always result in identical wrinkle grades. For example, at a cumulative dose of 0.5 J/cm2, the mean wrinkle grade for the low dose group was 1.75 compared to that of 1.2 for the high dose group (age-matched = 0). This observation may suggest that there are other factors in addition to total cumulative dose which are important for the appearance of wrinkling in this model.