title: Lymphocytes and Langerhans cells in allergic patch tests.
abstract: An immuno-histochemical study of immuno-competent cells in the skin during fully developed 3-7 d patch tests was performed. Most inflammatory cells were OKT 11 positive T-lymphocytes. The majority of these cells were of the helper/inducer phenotype (OKT 4+), but in the later stages a relative increase of OKT 8+ cells was seen in 5 specimens out of 20. A focal decrease of OKT 6+ Langerhans cells was observed in the epidermis, while their number increased considerably in the dermis. Also observed was an inflammatory reaction of hair follicles with moderate numbers of OKT 6+ cells in the peribulbar infiltrate. This indicates that hair follicles may possibly act as shunt pathways for allergens.
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology*; D003877:Dermatitis, Contact / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007801:Langerhans Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D010328:Patch Tests; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology; D012882:Skin Tests; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens