Open AccessLangerhans cells and their role in oral mucosal diseases
Author(s) -
Juhi Upadhyay,
Ram B Upadhyay,
Pankaj B. Agrawal,
Shweta Jaitley,
Rhitu Shekhar
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
north american journal of medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2250-1541
pISSN - 1947-2714
DOI - 10.4103/1947-2714.118923
Subject(s) - oral lichen planus , immune system , immunology , medicine , oral mucosa , antigen , antigen presentation , antigen presenting cell , tongue , t cell , pathology
Dendritic cells are arguably the most potent antigen-presenting cells and may be the only cells capable of initiating the adaptive immune response. The epithelial residents of dendritic cells are Langerhans cells, which serve as the "sentinels" of the mucosa, altering the immune system not only to pathogen entry but also of tolerance to self antigen and commensal microbes. Oral mucosal Langerhans cells are capable of engaging and internalizing a wide variety of pathogens and have been found responsive to nickel in patients with nickel allergies, oral Candida species, oral lichen planus, lichenoid drug eruptions, graft versus host diseases, periodontal diseases median rhomboid glossitis, human immunodeficiency virus infection, hairy leukoplakia of the tongue, and oral squamous cell carcinoma. Review focuses on the role of antigen-presenting cells in particular Langerhans cells to better understand the mechanisms underlying immune responses. In this review, comprehensive detail about mucosal diseases has been compiled using the PubMed database and through textbooks.