Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2013 Nov 28;3(1):13-22.
doi: 10.1007/s13671-013-0063-9. eCollection 2014.

The Skin-Resident Immune Network

Szun S Tay  1 , Ben Roediger  1 , Philip L Tong  2 , Shweta Tikoo  1 , Wolfgang Weninger  2
Affiliations
Review

The Skin-Resident Immune Network

Szun S Tay et al. Curr Dermatol Rep. .

Abstract

The skin provides an effective physical and biological barrier against environmental and pathogenic insults whilst ensuring tolerance against commensal microbes. This protection is afforded by the unique anatomy and cellular composition of the skin, particularly the vast network of skin-associated immune cells. These include the long-appreciated tissue-resident macrophages, dendritic cells, and mast cells, as well as the more recently described dermal γδ T cells and innate lymphoid cells. Collectively, these cells orchestrate the defense against a wide range of pathogens and environmental challenges, but also perform a number of homeostatic functions. Here, we review recent developments in our understanding of the various roles that leukocyte subsets play in cutaneous immunobiology, and introduce the newer members of the skin immune system. Implications for human disease are discussed.

Keywords: Dendritic cells; Innate immune system; Innate lymphoid cells; Langerhans cells; Macrophages; Mast cells; γδ T cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

S.S. Tay declares no conflicts of interest.

B. Roediger declares no conflicts of interest.

P.L. Tong declares no conflicts of interest.

S. Tikoo declares no conflicts of interest.

W. Weninger declares no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic of skin-resident immune cells. DETC dendritic epidermal T cells; DC dendritic cells; ILC2 group 2 innate lymphoid cells; LC Langerhans cells
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Urmacher C. Histology of normal skin. Am J Surg Pathol. 1990;14(7):671–86. - PubMed
    1. Murray PJ, Wynn TA. Protective and pathogenic functions of macrophage subsets. Nat Rev Immunol. 2011;11(11):723–37. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dai XM, Ryan GR, Hapel AJ, Dominguez MG, Russell RG, Kapp S, et al. Targeted disruption of the mouse colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor gene results in osteopetrosis, mononuclear phagocyte deficiency, increased primitive progenitor cell frequencies, and reproductive defects. Blood. 2002;99(1):111–20. - PubMed
    1. Yoshida H, Hayashi S, Kunisada T, Ogawa M, Nishikawa S, Okamura H, et al. The murine mutation osteopetrosis is in the coding region of the macrophage colony stimulating factor gene. Nature. 1990;345(6274):442–4. - PubMed
    1. Li J, Chen K, Zhu L, Pollard JW. Conditional deletion of the colony stimulating factor-1 receptor (c-fms proto-oncogene) in mice. Genesis. 2006;44(7):328–35. - PubMed