背景:表皮T细胞在免疫监视和炎症性皮肤病中起着核心作用。在成人和没有抗原经验的实验室小鼠之间发现表皮T细胞组成的主要差异。这是否是由于先天的物种差异,不同的环境暴露,或者两者的结合是一个有争议的问题。
目的:研究年龄和抗原暴露对人和小鼠皮肤表皮T细胞亚群的影响。
方法:我们从19名婴儿和26名成人的表皮中分离出T细胞,并通过流式细胞术测定CD4和CD8αβT细胞和γδT细胞的频率。此外,我们测定了无抗原经验和有抗原经验小鼠的表皮T细胞组成.
结果:我们发现人类出生时表皮T细胞非常少。数量增加,组成随年龄变化。在没有抗原经验的小鼠中,表皮T细胞组成不受年龄的影响,但是它受到抗原暴露的巨大影响。
结论:综合来看,我们显示抗原暴露,与年龄相反,是决定表皮T细胞组成的主要因素,这表明有抗原经验的小鼠的皮肤更好地反映了人类皮肤的免疫状况。
BACKGROUND: Epidermal T cells play a central role in immune surveillance and in inflammatory skin diseases. Major differences in the epidermal T cell composition are found between adult humans and antigen-inexperienced laboratory mice. Whether this is due to inborn species differences, to different environmental exposures, or a combination of the two is a matter of debate.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of age and exposure to antigens on epidermal T cell subsets in human and mouse skin.
METHODS: We isolated T cells from the epidermis from 19 infants and 26 adults, and determined the frequency of CD4+ and CD8+ αβ T cells and γδ T cells by flow cytometry. In addition, we determined the epidermal T cell composition in antigen-inexperienced and antigen-experienced mice.
RESULTS: We found that humans are born with very few epidermal T cells. The number increases and the composition changes with age. In antigen-inexperienced mice, the epidermal T cell composition is unaffected by age, but it is dramatically affected by antigen exposure.
CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, we show that antigen exposure, as opposed to age, is the major factor determining the composition of epidermal T cells, suggesting that the skin of antigen-experienced mice better reflects the immunological conditions in human skin.