title: CCL18 is expressed in atopic dermatitis and mediates skin homing of human memory T cells.
abstract: CCL18 is a human chemokine secreted by monocytes and dendritic cells. The receptor for CCL18 is not yet known and the functions of this chemokine on immune cells are not fully elucidated. In this study, we describe that CCL18 is present in skin biopsies of atopic dermatitis (AD) patients but not in normal or psoriatic skin. CCL18 was specifically expressed by APCs in the dermis and by Langerhans and inflammatory dendritic epidermal cells in the epidermis. In addition, the serum levels of CCL18 and the percentages of CCL18-producing monocyte/macrophages and dendritic cells were significantly increased in AD patients compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, we demonstrate that CCL18 binds to CLA(+) T cells in peripheral blood of AD patients and healthy individuals and induces migration of AD-derived memory T cells in vitro and in human skin-transplanted SCID mice. These findings highlight a unique role of CCL18 in AD and reveal a novel function of this chemokine mediating skin homing of a subpopulation of human memory T cells.
authors.affiliation: Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.forename: Concha
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bello-Fernandez
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kopp
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kund
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Carballido-Perrig
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hinteregger
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fassl
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schwärzler
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lametschwandtner
authors.forename: Georg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stingl
authors.forename: Tilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Biedermann
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carballido
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019742:Chemokines, CC / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000276:immunology; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: C111792:CCL18 protein, human; D019742:Chemokines, CC