Clonotypic analysis of T cells infiltrating the skin of patients with atopic dermatitis: evidence for antigen-driven accumulation of T cells.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammation of the skin characterized by marked infiltration of lymphocytes, suggesting an important role for cellular immune responses in the pathogenesis of AD. It is still unclear, however, whether accumulation of lymphocytes results from antigen-driven mechanisms or by nonspecific inflammatory processes. We applied a novel method of T cell clonotypic analysis, using a combination of reverse transcriptase-PCR with multiple T cell receptor (TCR) primers and subsequent single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP). Using this method, we were able to detect oligoclonal accumulation of T cells in inflamed skin areas of patients with AD, but not in normal skin. Identical T cell clones with the same antigen specificities were present in samples obtained from separate skin regions. Our results indicate that antigen(s) that exist in large areas of the skin stimulate and expand a relatively restricted number of antigen-specific T cells, leading to oligoclonal accumulation of T cells. We suggest that a marked antigen-driven infiltration of T cells is present in AD.
Tanaka
A
A
Institute of Medical Science, St. Marianna University, School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan.
Takahama
H
H
Kato
T
T
Kubota
Y
Y
Kurokawa
K
K
Nishioka
K
K
Mizoguchi
M
M
Yamamoto
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D002999:Clone Cells; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000032:analysis; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D000941:Antigens; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta; D012194:RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase