Influence of the season on vitamin D levels and regulatory T cells in patients with polymorphic light eruption† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5pp00398a Click here for additional data file. Click here for additional data file

The levels of regulatory T cells (Tregs) are higher towards summer in patients with polymorphic light eruption, as a potential compensatory mechanism to suppress immune function. UV light and/or other seasonal factors may be responsible through the non-vitamin D related pathway(s). The exact mechanisms of photohardening in polymorphic light eruption (PLE) are still unknown, but medical photohardening was shown to increase regulatory T cell (Treg) numbers in the blood of PLE patients, similar to natural hardening. Furthermore, oral vitamin D supplementation increased peripheral Tregs in healthy individuals. We herein report on a post hoc analysis of 26 screened PLE patients of a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov No. NCT01595893), in which the influence of the progressing season was investigated on baseline CD4+CD25+FoxP3+CD127– Treg numbers by flow cytometry and Treg suppressive function by co-culture assays with T effector cells as a secondary endpoint, together with 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) serum levels at the study's screening visit, taking place in the period from January to June. The mean 25(OH)D serum level of all patients was 33.2 ng ml –1 . Ten of those patients (38.5%) were identified with low 25(OH)D levels (