Open AccessT-cell receptor V beta expression in normal human skin.
Author(s) -
David A. Dunn,
Anne-Sophie Gadenne,
Swarnalatha Simha,
Ethan A. Lerner,
Michael Bigby,
Paul A. Bleicher
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.90.4.1267
Subject(s) - t cell receptor , peripheral blood mononuclear cell , biology , immunology , antigen , immune system , beta (programming language) , human skin , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , t cell , genetics , computer science , in vitro , programming language
The skin-associated immune system is the first line of defense against pathogenic attack from the environment and is simultaneously tolerant to localized autoantigens and to antigens of the normal microbial flora. The T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of skin lymphocytes may therefore be influenced by the skin microenvironment. We studied the expression of TCR beta-chain variable region (V beta) genes in normal skin by a polymerase chain reaction-based comparative method. When comparing the amplification of V beta genes in peripheral blood and normal skin, we found that TCR V beta 1, -7, -14, and -16 were often highly expressed in skin relative to peripheral blood, whereas V beta 5.1 was often highly expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells but not in skin. These results demonstrate that the TCR repertoire of skin lymphocytes is not determined by random sampling of peripheral blood mononuclear cells but may be molded by the interaction with self antigens and/or the normal microbial flora in the microenvironment of the skin.