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A Combination of MIP-3alpha and TGF-beta1 Is Required for the Attraction of Human Langerhans Precursor Cells Through a Dermal-Epidermal Barrier

S Godefroy, G Guironnet, C Jacquet, D Schmitt, M J Staquet

Eur J Cell Biol. 2001 May;80(5):335-40.

PMID: 11432723

Abstract:

Signals regulating the traffic of Langerhans cell precursors from blood to the epidermis are not yet fully understood. The observations that TGF-beta1 is of unique importance in Langerhans cells (LC) ontogeny and that macrophage inflammatory protein-3alpha (MIP-3alpha) is able to attract LC within the epidermis, prompted us to study the effect of MIP-3alpha and TGF-beta1 on the migration of LC precursors. The migratory capacity of immature dendritic cells (DC) was assessed using a reconstituted basement membrane assay (Matrigel), mimicking the prerequisite passage through the dermal-epidermal basement membrane on the way into the epidermis. DC differentiated from cord blood CD34 cells in the presence of GM-CSF plus TNF-alpha were subjected to migration using modified Boyden chambers. Day-6 DC progenitors migrated in a dose-dependent fashion in response to MIP-3alpha, and CD1alpha+ LC precursors responded preferentially to the chemokine. Immature DC did not respond strongly to TGF-beta1 alone in migration assays, but up to 68% of the cells migrated in response to MIP-3alpha plus TGF-beta1. Among them, at least 50% expressed CD1a and E-cadherin and can be considered LC precursors. The allostimulatory function of these cells was significantly more potent than that which migrated in response to MIP-3alpha alone. Our results show that a significant proportion of immature DC is able to migrate through a dermal-epidermal basement membrane equivalent. In the presence of TGF-beta1, the DC which respond to MIP-3alpha have the phenotype and the functional capacity of epidermal LC. Our findings underline the role of MIP-3alpha and TGF-beta1 in attraction and localization of immature LC within the epidermis under normal conditions.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number Product Name Structure CAS Number Price
IAR42413126 MIP-3alpha human MIP-3alpha human Price
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