CD4+ T cells Reject Benign Melanocytic Nevi

Human CD4+ T cells mediate spontaneous rejection of acquired benign melanocytic nevi, in the majority of cases, through a break in peripheral tolerance. For the remaining cases, nevi remain stable and do not progress to malignancy. In this experiment, we compared gene expression of post-transplant rejected nevi to stable nevi in order to better characterize their transcriptional profiles. Overall design: We excised two nevi, contained within peripheral normal skin, and one section of normal skin by means of shave biopsy from each patient. One of the two nevi (nevus I) was transplanted onto an immunodeficient NOD-SCID mouse and the remaining nevus (nevus II) was used for histological and molecular studies. Nevi I were harvested from mice after a phenotype had been established. RNA to be used for this study was extracted from Nevi I.