Advantages of using hairless mice versus haired mice to test sunscreen efficacy against photoimmune suppressions.

We tested the hypothesis that the strain of mice used in sunscreen protection experiments may influence immune protection. Ultraviolet (UV) dose-response curves were done in the presence or absence of a sun protection factor (SPF) 15 sunscreen using SKH1:hrBR or C3H/HeN mice. SKH1:hrBR mice showed a higher sensitivity to the suppressive effects of UV radiation (50% immune suppression equal to 5.2 kJ/m(2) UVB in SKH1:hrBR mice versus 18.5 kJ/m(2) in C3H mice). Immune protection factors (IPF) and an erythema protection factor (Ery-PF) for SKH1:hr mice were derived. The Ery-PF in hairless mice was 13.5, which was similar to the SPF of 15 measured in humans. When IPF were calculated as a ratio of minimal immune suppressive doses, the IPF for the SKH1:hrBR mice was 8.23 and the IFP for the C3H/HeN mice was 1.92. When IPF were estimated using the entire UV dose-response range, they were equal to 9.01 for SKH1:hrBR mice and 1.79 for the C3H/HeN mice. Because IPF and SPF can be measured directly in hairless mice, we suggest that the use of hairless mice may provide a better model to measure sunscreen efficacy, especially when the use of human volunteers is inappropriate, unethical or impossible.