Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2004 Jun;136(3):483-9.
doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2249.2004.02469.x.

Langerhans cells from human oral epithelium are more effective at stimulating allogeneic T cells in vitro than Langerhans cells from skin

B Hasséus  1 , M Jontell, G Bergenholtz, U I Dahlgren
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Langerhans cells from human oral epithelium are more effective at stimulating allogeneic T cells in vitro than Langerhans cells from skin

B Hasséus et al. Clin Exp Immunol. 2004 Jun.

Abstract

This report is focused on the functional capacity of Langerhans cells (LC) in the epithelium of skin and oral mucosa, which both meet different antigenic challenges. The capacity of LC from human oral and skin epithelium to provide co-stimulatory signals to T cells in vitro was compared. LC in a crude suspension of oral epithelial cells had a significantly enhanced T cell co-stimulatory capacity compared to skin epithelial cells. This applied both to cultures with concanavalin A (con-A)-stimulated syngeneic T cells and to a mixed epithelial cell lymphocyte reaction involving allogeneic T cells. The co-stimulatory capacity of oral and skin epithelial cells was reduced by >70% if monoclonal antibodies against HLA-DR, -DP and -DQ were added to the cultures with allogeneic T cells, indicating the involvement of HLA class II expressing LC. Immunohistochemistry revealed that 6% of the epithelial cells were CD1a + LC in sections from both oral and skin epithelium. Interleukin (IL)-8 production was higher in cultures of oral epithelial cells and con-A stimulated T cells than in corresponding cultures with skin epithelial cells as accessory cells. The results suggest that LC in human oral epithelium are more efficient at stimulating T cells than those of skin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
IL-8 production, measured by ELISA, in supernatants from cultures of oral and skin epithelial cells (1 × 104 cells/well) and T cells (2·5 × 105 cells/well) with or without con-A present following 4 days of incubation. Data are from two subjects, cultures of skin epithelial cells only from one subject.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Banchereau J, Steinman RM. Dendritic cells and the control of immunity. Nature. 1998;392:245–52. - PubMed
    1. Lappin MB, Kimber I, Norval M. The role of dendritic cells in cutaneous immunity. Arch Dermatol Res. 1996;288:109–21. - PubMed
    1. Caux C, Massacrier C, Vanbervliet B, et al. CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors from human cord blood differentiate along two independent dendritic cell pathways in response to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor plus tumor necrosis factor alpha. II. Functional analysis. Blood. 1997;90:1458–70. - PubMed
    1. Valladeau J, Ravel O, Dezutter-Dambuyant C, et al. Langerin, a novel C-type lectin specific to Langerhans cells, is an endocytic receptor that induces the formation of Birbeck granules. Immunity. 2000;12:71–81. - PubMed
    1. Geissmann F, Dieu-Nosjean MC, Dezutter C, et al. Accumulation of immature Langerhans cells in human lymph nodes draining chronically inflamed skin. J Exp Med. 2002;196:417–30. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types