title: Comparison of the microanatomical distributions of macrophages and dendritic cells in normal and diseased tonsils.
abstract: The palatine tonsils play an important role in immunologic surveillance and resistance to infection in the upper aerodigestive tract. Dendritic cells and macrophages function to capture and process antigen and present it to T lymphocytes, a critical step in the early immune response. Few studies have characterized the distribution and phenotype of those antigen-presenting cells in the normal palatine tonsil, or determined how those parameters change with disease. Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to determine the microanatomical distribution, quantity, morphology, and phenotype of macrophages and dendritic cells in both normal and diseased tonsils. Differences were observed in macrophage and dendritic cell distribution, quantity, and phenotype in the surface and crypt epithelium. The number of macrophages was significantly increased in all compartments in all disease groups (p < .05), although the number of macrophages that expressed phenotypes of maturity and/or activation was not concomitantly increased. In the surface epithelium, Langerhans and interdigitating cells decreased significantly with disease (p < .05). Chronic infection may impose an immunosuppressive effect on responses within tonsil tissue, affecting the immunologic factors responsible for macrophage maturation and activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and the Children's Hospital of Buffalo, New York 14214, USA.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gorfien
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brodsky
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018949:Antigens, CD1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001706:Biopsy; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002452:Cell Count; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007801:Langerhans Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000276:immunology*; D012008:Recurrence; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D014068:Tonsillectomy; D014069:Tonsillitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000097382:CD68 Molecule
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D018949:Antigens, CD1; D015214:Antigens, Differentiation, Myelomonocytic; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D009418:S100 Proteins; C419393:CD1a antigen; C067980:CD68 antigen, human; D000097382:CD68 Molecule