The Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing is an academic center affiliated with the Division of Toxicological Sciences in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences of the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

 

Johns Hopkins School of Public Health

Research Grants 1993-1994

Epidermal Cell Expression of Co-Stimulatory Activity in the Induction of Allergic Contact Dermatitis

Anthony A. Gaspari, MD
University of Rochester, Rochester, New York

Gaspari and colleagues are attempting to clarify the relationship between allergic contact dermatitis and the regulation of antigen presenting functions by epidermal cells. Previous studies have demonstrated that Langerhans cells regulate antigen presenting functions, changing their phenotype, morphology and immunostimulatory functions in response to keratinocyte derived cytokines. The goal of this project is to characterize biochemically the B7/BB-1 antigen that is expressed by Langerhans cells and keratinocytes, in order to discover whether allergens act on Langerhans cells to induce allergic contact dermatitis. These studies use human cells.