Antigen-presenting cells, including Langerhans cells, veiled cells and interdigitating cells

Abstract

The accessory functions attributed to macrophages, such as antigen presentation, are probably carried out by specialized, marrow-derived cells which always have Ia antigen on their surfaces. These cells are not actively phagocytic, but are mainly engaged in engulfing large volumes on fluid. They are found in the epidermis as sessile cells, the Langerhans cells, but some re-enter the dermis and appear in afferent lymph as actively moving, veiled cells. Here they are joined by other veiled cells which have differentiated in the dermis: both populations then enter the draining lymph node. A similar process of differentiation probably occurs in other specialized tissues leading to the formation of cells that enter the afferent lymph and become veiled cells. In the lymph node, veiled cells localize in the paracortex or T-dependent area and later differentiate into another sessile cell type, the interdigitating cell. The life-style of this family of cells appears to be well-adapted for the transport of antigen into the paracortex, an area from which free antigen is largely excluded, and it seems likely that T-cell activation is triggered by the arrival of veiled cells bearing a new antigen on their surfaces.