02639nas a2200457   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002600058653003000084653002700114653001200141653001500153653001500168653001100183653002000194653002000214653002000234653001400254653001100268653002000279653002500299653002100324653000900345653001400354100002200368700002100390700002300411700002000434700002200454700001800476700001900494700002000513700002200533700002100555700001800576245011300594300001000707490000800717520144200725022001402167       2008                            d  c2008 Aug 1510aADP-ribosyl Cyclase 110aAdenosine Triphosphatases10aAdjuvants, Immunologic10aAnimals10aAntibodies10aArmadillos10aBiopsy10aCross Reactions10aDendritic Cells10aEpidermal Cells10aEpidermis10aFemale10aHLA-DR Antigens10aImmunohistochemistry10aLangerhans Cells10aMale10aOxazolone1 aQuesada-Pascual F1 aJimenez-Flores R1 aFlores-Langarica A1 aSilva-Sanchez A1 aCalderon-Amador J1 aMendez-Cruz R1 aLimon-Flores A1 aEstrada-Parra S1 aSantos-Argumedo L1 aEstrada-Garcia I1 aFlores-Romo L00aCharacterization of langerhans cells in epidermal sheets along the body of Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).  a220-90 v1243 a<p>Armadillos are apparently important reservoirs of Mycobacterium leprae and an animal model for human leprosy, whose immune system has been poorly studied. We aimed at characterizing the armadillo's langerhans cells (LC) using epidermal sheets instead of tissue sections, since the latter restrict analysis only to cut-traversed cells. Epidermal sheets by providing an en face view, are particularly convenient to evaluate dendritic morphology (cells are complete), spatial distribution (regular vs. clustered), and frequency (cell number/tissue area). Lack of anti-armadillo antibodies was overcome using LC-restricted ATPase staining, allowing assessment of cell frequency, cell size, and dendrites extension. Average LC frequency in four animals was 528 LC/mm(2), showing a rather uniform non-clustered distribution, which increased towards the animal's head, while cell size increased towards the tail; without overt differences between sexes. The screening of antibodies to human DC (MHC-II, CD 1a, langerin, CD86) in armadillo epidermal sheets, revealed positive cells with prominent dendritic morphology only with MHC-II and CD86. This allowed us to test DC mobilization from epidermis into dermis under topical oxazolone stimulation, a finding that was corroborated using whole skin conventional sections. We hope that the characterization of armadillo's LC will incite studies of leprosy and immunity in this animal model.</p>  a0165-2427