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Langerhans cell: exciting developments in health and disease
Author(s) -
Atmatzidis D.H.,
Lambert W.C.,
Lambert M.W.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the european academy of dermatology and venereology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.655
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1468-3083
pISSN - 0926-9959
DOI - 10.1111/jdv.14522
Subject(s) - immunology , medicine , carcinogenesis , epidermis (zoology) , langerhans cell , immune system , inflammation , psoriasis , antigen , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , pathology , cancer , anatomy
Langerhans cells ( LC s) have been the subject of much research since their discovery in 1868. LC s belong to the subset of leucocytes called dendritic cells. They are present in the epidermis and the pilosebaceous apparatus and monitor the cutaneous environment for changes in homeostasis. During embryogenesis, a wave of yolk sac macrophages seed the fetal skin. Then, fetal liver monocytes largely replace the yolk sac macrophages and comprise the majority of adult LC s. In the presence of skin irritation, LC s process antigen and travel to regional lymph nodes to present antigen to reactive T lymphocytes. Changes in LC s' surface markers during the journey occur under the influence of cytokines. The difference in expression of surface markers and the ability to resist radiation have allowed researchers to differentiate LC s from the murine Langerin‐positive dermal dendritic cells. Exciting discoveries have been made recently regarding their role in inflammatory skin diseases, cancer and HIV . New research has shown that antibodies blocking CD 1a appear to mitigate inflammation in contact hypersensitivity reactions and psoriasis. While it has been established that LC s have the potential to induce effector cells of the adaptive immune system to counter oncogenesis, recent studies have demonstrated that LC s coordinate with natural killer cells to impair development of squamous cell carcinoma caused by chemical carcinogens. However, LC s may also physiologically suppress T cells and permit keratinocyte transformation and tumorigenesis. Although long known to play a primary role in the progression of HIV infection, it is now understood that LC s also possess the ability to restrict the progression of the disease. There is a pressing need to discover more about how these cells affect various aspects of health and disease; new information gathered thus far seems promising and exciting.