Department of Dermatology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
Exp Dermatol. 2013 Sep;22(9):593-8. doi: 10.1111/exd.12205.
Although vibrissae hair follicles (VHFs) have long been a key research model in the life sciences, their immune system (IS) is essentially unknown. Therefore, we have characterized basic parameters of the VHF-IS of C57BL/6J mice by quantitative (immuno-)histomorphometry. Murine anagen VHF harbour few CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the distal mesenchyme and sinuses but hardly any gamma-delta T cells in their distal epithelium. MHC class II+ Langerhans cells are seeded in the VHF infundibulum, which is also surrounded by MHC class II+ and CD11b+ cells (macrophages). The number of Langerhans cells then declines sharply in the VHF bulge, and the VHF bulb lacks MHC class II+ cells. Mast cells densely populate the VHF connective tissue sheath, where they strikingly cluster around the bulge. Both the bulge and the bulb of VHF display signs of immune privilege, that is, low MHC class I and MHC class II expression and local immunoinhibitor expression (CD200, TGFβ1). This immunophenotyping study fills an important gap in the immunobiology of murine skin and identifies differences between the IS of VHF, mouse pelage and human terminal HFs. This facilitates utilizing murine VHF as a versatile organ culture model for general immunology and immune privilege research in situ.
尽管触须毛囊 (VHF) 长期以来一直是生命科学的重要研究模型，但它们的免疫系统 (IS) 基本上是未知的。因此，我们通过定量（免疫）组织形态计量学来描述 C57BL/6J 小鼠 VHF-IS 的基本参数。在小鼠生长期的 VHF 中，在远端间充质和窦中几乎没有 CD4+和 CD8+T 细胞，但在远端上皮中几乎没有 γ-δ T 细胞。MHC 类 II+朗格汉斯细胞定植在 VHF 的漏斗部，该漏斗部也被 MHC 类 II+和 CD11b+细胞（巨噬细胞）包围。然后，朗格汉斯细胞的数量在 VHF 的隆起处急剧下降，而 VHF 的球部缺乏 MHC 类 II+细胞。肥大细胞密集分布在 VHF 的结缔组织鞘中，在那里它们明显围绕隆起处聚集。VHF 的隆起和球部都显示出免疫特权的迹象，即 MHC 类 I 和 MHC 类 II 表达水平低，局部免疫抑制剂（CD200、TGFβ1）表达。这项免疫表型研究填补了小鼠皮肤免疫生物学中的一个重要空白，并确定了 VHF、小鼠被毛和人类终末毛囊的 IS 之间的差异。这有助于利用小鼠 VHF 作为一般免疫学和免疫特权原位研究的多功能器官培养模型。
