Antigen presentation by murine epidermal langerhans cells and its alteration by ultraviolet B light

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1981 · J. Immunol.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5571869

Stingl, G; Gazze-Stingl, L A; Aberer, W; Wolff, K

Mice that are chronically exposed in vivo to ultraviolet B light (UV-B) display altered immunologic reactivity to various antigenic stimuli. A possible mode of UV-B action is that it exerts adverse effects on antigen-presenting cell function. Because the epidermis is the only tissue that is naturally subject to UV exposure we investigated if murine epidermal cells (EC) could perform an antigen presentation function and, if so, could this function be altered by UV-B irradiation. For this purpose, T cells immune to purified protein derivative of tuberculin (PPD) and dinitrophenylated ovalbumin (DNP/sub 6/-OVA) from either BALB/c or C3H/He mice were incubated with syngeneic, semisyngeneic, or allogeneic EC or, for control purposes, with peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) that had been pulse-exposed to either the immunizing antigens or, as controls, left unpulsed, or pulsed to human serum albumin (HSA). After 4 days of culture, T cell proliferation was assessed by /sup 3/H-thymidine incorporation. PPD- and DNP/6-OVA pulsed, but not HSA-pulsed EC and PEC, induced vigorous proliferation of syngeneic and semisyngeneic, but not allogeneic, immune T cells. Pretreatment of stimulator cells with specific anti-Ia serum and complement virtually abolished this response, which indicated that among EC, Ia-bearing Langerhans cells are the critical stimulators. Exposure of EC either before or after pulsing to UV-B resulted in a dose-dependent impairment of antigen-specific T cell proliferation; the T proliferative response was abolished after administration of 20 mJ/cm/sup 2/ UV-B. UV-B in the dose range employed did not produce immediate lethal cell damage, premature death of cultured EC, or toxic factors inhibitory for T cell proliferation.

• Research Organization: Univ. of Innsbruck Medical School, Austria
• OSTI ID: 5571869
• Journal Information: J. Immunol.; (United States), Vol. 127:4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
EPIDERMIS
ANTIGEN-ANTIBODY REACTIONS
IMMUNE REACTIONS
INHIBITION
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
CELL CULTURES
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
IN VITRO
LYMPHOCYTES
ANIMAL CELLS
ANIMAL TISSUES
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BLOOD
BLOOD CELLS
BODY
BODY FLUIDS
CONNECTIVE TISSUE CELLS
DATA
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EPITHELIUM
INFORMATION
LEUKOCYTES
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
ORGANS
RADIATIONS
SKIN
SOMATIC CELLS
TISSUES
560121* - Radiation Effects on Cells- External Source- (-1987)
550300 - Cytology