[Generation of cytotoxic lymphocytes in lympho-epidermal mixed cultures in man]

The ability of human normal skin epidermal cells (EC) to induce the generation of alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) was investigated in vitro using the Mixed Skin Cell lymphocyte Reaction (MSLR) model. In human MSLR, EC stimulated the proliferation of allogeneic peripheral blood lymphocytes (L) as measured, after 6 days, by 3H-thymidine uptake. In parallel, the generation of alloreactive CTL was tested in 18 hr 51CR release assays against L targets (targets autologous to EC that stimulated in MSLR). Allogeneic, not autologous MSLR, lead to the generation of CTL; alloreactive CTL were not generated against targets allogeneic to stimulating EC; no CTL activity occurred without previous stimulation by EC. These data indicate that in vitro MSLR may provide an useful tool for the investigation of lympho-epidermal interactions in man and our understanding of lymphocytotoxicity mechanisms that occur in vivo in response and/or directed to epidermal constituents .