Tumour necrosis factor-α induces Langerhans cell migration in humans

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Abstract
The role of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α in the mobilization and migration of human epidermal Langerhans cells (LC) has been investigated. Intradermal injection of normal human volunteers with homologous recombinant TNF-α was found to cause a dose-dependent reduction in the frequency of LC within epidermal sheets 2 h later. Equivalent results were obtained when epidermal LC were identified on the basis of either CD1a or HLA-DR expression. At the dose of TNF-α used routinely (500 U), treatment resulted in an average reduction in LC density of approximately 24%. Treatment with TNF-α was associated with a perivascular polymorphonuclear infiltration at 2 h, but the epidermis appeared normal with neither fibrinoid necrosis nor vasculitis, and LC morphology was not affected significantly. These results demonstrate that TNF-α provides an important signal for LC migration in humans and is likely therefore to play a crucial part in the induction of cutaneous immune responses.

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