Langerhans' cells and T cells in human skin tumours: an immunohistological study

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Normal [human] skin and a range of skin tumors, both benign and malignant, were examined using monoclonal antibodies to identify the distribution and morphology of Langerhans'' cells. In view of the putative functional association between Langerhans'' cells and T cells, the distribution of T lymphocytes and their subsets were analyzed using monoclonal anti-T cell antibodies. The results indicate that Langerhans'' cells can be reliably identified in both normal and malignant skin biopsies using monoclonal antibodies. A striking finding was that in benign skin lesions Langerhans'' cells were increased, whereas in malignant tumors they were not only markedly depleted or absent but also grossly stunted and deformed in outline. The majority of lymphocytes surrounding these skin tumors were shown to be T cells with helper cells outnumbering suppressor cells by a ratio from 2 to 5:1. The usefulness of immunohistological techniques using monoclonal antibodies for examining the morphology and distribution of Langerhans'' cells in skin pathology is discussed. They are also particularly appropriate for identifying their topographic relationships with other immunologically important cells such as T cells.