Epidermal Langerhans cells in actinic prurigo: a comparison between lesional and non-lesional skin

• Published in: Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Vol. 23; no. 4; pp. 438 - 440
• Main Authors: Calderón-Amador, J, Flores-Langarica, A, Silva-Sánchez, A, Donis-Maturano, L, Granados, J, Vega-Memije, E, Lacy-Niebla, RM, Hojyo-Tomoka, T, Dominguez-Soto, L, Flores-Romo, L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-04-2009
• Subjects: Actinic Prurigo; Dendritic Cells in situ; Epidermis - pathology; Human Langerhans Cells; Humans; Langerhans Cells - pathology; Photosensitivity Disorders - pathology; Prurigo - pathology
• ISSN: 0926-9959; 1468-3083
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-3083.2008.03060.x

Actinic Prurigo (AP) is a chronic pruritic dermatosis of unknown cause affecting sun exposed skin in defined ethnic groups with characteristic MHC alleles. However, the cutaneous dendritic cells have not been assessed.
To assess in situ the epidermal Langerhans Cell (LC) status in Actinic Prurigo.
Fresh skin samples from three AP patients were used to evaluate in situ the epidermal LC, comparing lesional and non-lesional sites in each subject.
AP patients attending the Dermatology Department at the Hospital M. Gea-Gonzalez in Mexico city.
Lesional and non-lesional skin samples were taken from each subject to prepare both epidermal sheets and conventional tissue sections. Three markers restricted to LC in epidermis (CD1a, ATPase, MHC-II) were used to quantify the LC per area in epidermal sheets.
Compared to non-lesional skin from the same subject, a significant reduction in the number of LC per area of epidermis was found in lesional skin; with any of the three markers evaluated.
The frequency of epidermal LC decreases importantly in lesional skin from AP patients.