ACCESSORY CELL ABILITY OF LANGERHANS CELLS FOR SUPERANTIGEN IS RESISTANT TO ULTRAVIOLET-B LIGHT |
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Authors: | Yoshin Tokura Hiroaki Yagi Hideo Hashizume Junji Yagi Fukumi Furukawa Masahiro Takigawa |
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Institution: | Department of Dermatology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 3600 Handacho, Hamamatsu 431–31, Japan;Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tokyo Women's Medical College, 8–1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162, Japan |
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Abstract: | Abstract We examined the effects of ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiation on the accessory cell ability of Langerhans cells (LC) to induce a T-cell response to a superantigen, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). The ability of LC-enriched epidermal cells (LC-EC) to evoke a T-cell response to SEB was retained at the doses of UVB (up to 40 mJ/ cm2) that profoundly affected the antigen-presenting function of LC-EC for a hapten, trinitrophenyl (TNP), and a protein antigen, conalbumin. Thus, the LC accessory function for superantigens is more resistant to UVB irradiation than that for ordinary antigens. This UVB resistance is presumably due to no requirement of antigen processing for superantigens as chemically fixed or chloroquine-treated LC-EC still retained their ability to induce T-cell responses to SEB. Higher doses of UVB (more than 60 mJ/cm2) reduced the accessory cell ability of LC-EC for SEB up to 50% of control. The addition of monoclonal antibodies against adhesion molecules between LC and T cells to the culture resulted in substantial suppression of the T-cell response to SEB induced by nonirradiated LC-EC, while the U VB-irradiated LC-EC-induced T-cell response was not significantly blocked with these monoclonal antibodies. This suggested that the reduction of LC ability for superantigen by high doses of UVB is at least partly due to impairment of adhesion molecules on LC by UVB irradiation. |
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