Veiled cells in chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease

The mononuclear cell system in the human gut wall of patients with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) and normal controls was studied, with special reference to the so called antigen presenting veiled cells. These cells have already extensively been studied in the skin and are known as Langerhans' cells in the epidermis and dermis, veiled cells in the skin lymph and interdigitating cells in lymph nodes. Recently they were also found in gut associated lymphoid tissue, i.e. Peyer's patches of the rat. Here we describe the presence of similar cells in chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (CIBD). They resemble veiled cells in moving pattern, strong Ia positivity, no or only weak acid phosphatase activity, and ultrastructure. However, many of the described cells combine these characteristics with those of phagocytic macrophages. In the gut wall of controls veiled cells were virtually absent and phagocytic macrophages were almost exclusively recognized. These findings suggest that more intensive antigen handling takes place in the gut wall of CIBD patients than in normal gut. Clear cut associations with sex, age, duration or activity of disease were not observed in this limited study, and the exact significance of the presence of such cells needs further clarification.