Fol. Biol. 2004, 50, 71-73
Comparison of the Expression of Langerin and 175 kD Mannose Receptor in Antigen-Presenting Cells in Normal Human Skin and Basal Cell Carcinoma
The presence of professional antigen-presenting cells in tumours can influence their further spreading. Location of cells exhibiting a specific marker of Langerhans cells ñ Langerin, and the 175 kD mannose receptor as a marker of dendritic cells of nonLangerhans type and macrophages, was studied using double staining in the normal human epidermis and in basal cell carcinomas. The Lagerin-positive cells strictly colonized the epidermis and no cells were found in the dermis, where 175 kD mannose receptor-exhibiting cells were present. Very rare elements in the epidermal/dermal interface were positive for both markers. A low incidence of Langerin-positive cells was found in tumours and 1/3 of studied carcinomas were even Langerhans cell-free. The extraepithelial presence of Langerin-positive cells forming contacts with dendrite-like protrusions of 175 kD mannose receptor-exhibiting cells was found in connective tissue surrounding the tumour epithelium and indicates possible cooperation of both elements.
Funding
This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport of the Czech Republic, project No. MSM111100005, and the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, projects No. 304/03/P027 and No. 304/04/0171.
References
Copyright
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.