Published online before print November 5, 2007
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||





* St. Johns Institute of Dermatology, Kings College London, London, United Kingdom;
Syngenta Central Toxicology Laboratory, Macclesfield, Cheshire, United Kingdom;
School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom; and
Division of Immunology, Infection and Inflammation, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
1 Correspondence: St. Johns Institute of Dermatology, Guys Hospital, St. Thomas Street, London, SE1 9RT, UK. E-mail: richard.groves{at}kcl.ac.uk
Langerhans cells (LC) migrate rapidly from epidermis to lymph node following epicutaneous application of antigen. In this study, we have explored the role of IL-18, a cytokine with structural similarities to IL-1β, in murine LC migration and contact hypersensitivity (CHS), which to oxazolone (OX) and 2-4,dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) was suppressed significantly in IL-18 knockout (IL-18–/–) mice and could be rescued by local intradermal administration of IL-18 prior to sensitization, suggesting that the defect in these mice was in the afferent phase of CHS. To determine the effect of IL-18 on LC migration, mice were treated topically with OX or DNFB, and remaining LC numbers were assessed. A significant decline in remaining epidermal LC occurred in wild-type (WT) mice but did not occur in IL-18–/– mice. Sodium lauryl sulfate, a nonantigenic LC migratory stimulus, induced equivalent LC migration in IL-18–/– and WT mice. In IL-18–/– mice, IL-1β and TNF-
were equally able to mobilize LC from epidermis, indicating that migration in response to these cytokines is not dependent on IL-18 and suggesting that IL-18 acts upstream of these cytokines in the initiation of antigen-induced LC migration. Moreover, IL-1β but not IL-18 was able to rescue the defective CHS response observed in caspase-1–/– mice, which have no functional IL-1β or IL-18. These data indicate that IL-18 is a key proximal mediator of LC migration and CHS, acting upstream of IL-1β and TNF-
, and may play a central role in regulation of cutaneous immune responses.
Key Words: oxazolone lymph nodes caspase-1
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
A. Natsch The Nrf2-Keap1-ARE Toxicity Pathway as a Cellular Sensor for Skin Sensitizers--Functional Relevance and a Hypothesis on Innate Reactions to Skin Sensitizers Toxicol. Sci., February 1, 2010; 113(2): 284 - 292. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||