Langerhans cells (green) have internalized the chemical mutagen DMBA (blue) into seemingly vesicular collections. JULIA LEWIS, LABORATORY OF DR. MICHAEL GIRARDI, YALE UNIVERSITY
Langerhans cells, the main immune cell type found in the epidermis of the skin, facilitate carcinogenesis in neighboring epithelial cells by helping to metabolize toxins into even more mutagenic forms in mice, according to a study published today (Jan 5) in Science.
The study “shows a function for Langerhans cells that is outside of immune function,” said Stuart Yuspa, a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute who researches carcinogenesis and epithelial differentiation but was not involved in the current research. This novel metabolic function turns out to be instrumental in the carcinogenesis of surrounding skin cells.
Discovered in 1868, Langerhans cells are primarily thought to behave as sentinels, initiating and regulating adaptive immune responses by processing and presenting antigens to T cells. However, there ...
