Dendritic Cell Subsets in Oral Mucosa of Allergic and Healthy Subjects

Immunohistochemistry was used to identify, enumerate, and describe the tissue distribution of Langerhans type (CD1a and CD207), myeloid (CD1c and CD141), and plasmacytoid (CD303 and CD304) dendritic cell subsets in oral mucosa of allergic and non-allergic individuals. Allergic individuals have more CD141+ myeloid cells in epithelium and more CD1a+ Langerhans cells in the lamina propria compared to healthy controls, but similar numbers for the other DC subtypes. Our data are the first to describe the presence of CD303+ plasmacytoid DCs in human oral mucosa and a dense intraepithelial network of CD141+ DCs. The number of Langerhans type DCs (CD1a and CD207) and myeloid DCs (CD1c), was higher in the oral mucosa than in the nasal mucosa of the same individual independent of the atopic status.