title: Langerhans cell migration is modulated by N-sulfated glucosamine moieties in heparin.
abstract: Dendritic cell (DC) migration into and out of tissues is important for the generation of primary immune responses to antigens encountered in tissues. In order to study the mechanisms involved in DC migration we used a skin explant system and quantitated the number of Langerhans cells (LC), which are immature precursors of DC in skin-draining lymph nodes, remaining in the epidermis in response to incubation with various biomolecules. This paper shows that LC trafficking in epidermis is a metabolically active process that is modulated by heparin, specifically by N-sulfated glucosamine moieties in heparin. This is the first demonstration of structural specificity in the biochemical requirements for DC migration in a tissue and therefore is important to understanding DC migration in general.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine Dermatology, University of Sydney at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW, Australia. gabio@med.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: O'Sullivan
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Boswell
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Halliday
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002240:Carbohydrate Sequence; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005944:Glucosamine / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006493:Heparin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007801:Langerhans Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011509:Proteoglycans / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D011509:Proteoglycans; D006493:Heparin; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV; D005944:Glucosamine