Dendritic cells reside in tissues such as skin in an immature state. Upon antigenic challenge they begin to mature and migrate to the draining lymph nodes. These processes are still poorly understood. One way to study in situ aspects of maturation and @entity4222 are skin organ culture models. In an attempt to learn more about the relationship between maturation and @entity4222 we investigated the expression of several marker molecules by immunohistochemistry. Sheets from normal @entity19 ear skin and from skin that had been cultured for three days were compared. During culture the numbers of epidermal Langerhans cells decreased and accumulations of strongly MHC class II-positive cells ("cords") were found in the dermis. As compared to untreated skin, the few Langerhans cells remaining in the epidermal sheets after 2-3 days expressed increased levels of MHC class II and had also upregulated @entity11787 ( @entity11787 ) as described. They did not express the antigen recognized by mAb 2A1, a marker for mature dendritic cells. Double-staining of dermal sheets after 3 days of culture showed that dendritic cells in the "cords" expressed high levels of MHC class II and @entity11787 but were also reactive with mAb 2A1. This pattern is identical to those dendritic cells that had emigrated into the culture medium over the period of 3 days. Invariant chain (mAb @entity69799 ) was detected at all stages of culture as opposed to isolated epidermal Langerhans cells in suspension where invariant chain expression disappears after 3 days of culture. We conclude that the up- (class II, @entity11787 , 2A1) and down-regulation (invariant chain) of dendritic cell molecules during @entity4222 does not happen in a synchronized manner. The molecule recognized by mAb 2A1 seems to appear late in maturation.

Maturation and XXXX of @entity19 dendritic cells in situ. Observations in a skin organ culture model.

@entity4222 :: ('MESH:D014085', 'Disease') :: ['migration'] @entity69799 :: ('16258(Tax:10090)', 'Gene') :: ['In1'] @entity19 :: ('10090', 'Species') :: ['murine'] @entity11787 :: ('12524(Tax:10090)', 'Gene') :: ['B7-2', 'CD86']
@entity4222 :: (MESH:D014085,Disease) :: ['migration']
