Contact sensitivity as a model for T-cell activation in skin.

Contact sensitivity has served as a useful model for the primary activation of T cells in skin and skin-associated lymphoid tissue. We have been interested in the early signals necessary for the induction of an allergen-specific T-cell response, as well as the factors controlling the intensity and extent of such an immune reaction. Because cytokines qualified as possible candidate molecules involved in directing primary immune responses in skin, we studied the early changes in the cytokine pattern of the epidermis. Apart from defining a cytokine pattern specifically induced only after application of allergen, we also identified Langerhans-cell-derived interleukin (IL)-1β as the first cytoki…