title: Migratory properties and functional capacities of human skin dendritic cells.
abstract: The different cell types which migrated 'spontaneously' out of human skin explants during different periods of culture were characterized. Before culture, CD1a+ dendritic cells were observed not only in the epidermis but also in the dermis, whereas CD1b+ dendritic cells were present exclusively in the dermis. The populations of migrating cells were harvested and phenotyped on 3 successive days of culture. They always contained high percentages of CD1a+ cells. The other cells that migrated were T cells and macrophages. A relatively high proportion of the CD1a+ cells that migrated during the first 24 h culture period was also CD1b+. The number of cells which were positive for both CD1a and CD1b decreased in the following 2 days of culture. However, the purified CD1a+ cell populations isolated on the 3 consecutive days did not show any difference in their capacity to stimulate allogeneic T cells. The CD1a+ cells possess potent allo-activating capacities that are independent of whether or not they are positive for CD1b+. Three days after culture about half of the CD1a+ cells were still present in the epidermis and dermis, but no CD1b+ cells could be detected in the dermis. This suggests that the CD1b+ cells represent a population of active migrating cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Richters
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hoekstra
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Van Baare
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Du Pont
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Hoefsmit
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Kamperdijk
mesh_terms: D018949:Antigens, CD1; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D046508:Culture Techniques; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D012867:Skin / Q000166:cytology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D018949:Antigens, CD1