Lj. Walton et al., CUTANEOUS LYMPHOCYTE ASSOCIATED ANTIGEN (CLA) AND ALPHA-E-BETA-7 INTEGRINS ARE EXPRESSED BY MONONUCLEAR-CELLS IN SKIN AND ORAL LICHEN-PLANUS, Journal of oral pathology & medicine, 26(9), 1997, pp. 402-407
The cutaneous lymphocyte associated-(CLA-) positive subset of lymphocy
tes appears to migrate preferentially into skin by interacting with E-
selectin on vascular endothelium; lymphocytes expressing the alpha e b
eta 7 integrin accumulate preferentially in the epithelium of the gast
rointestinal tract. To determine whether the mononuclear cell populati
on of the oral mucosa resembles that of the skin or intestine, and usi
ng lichen planus as a model, the proportions of CLA- and alpha e beta
7-positive cells in the epithelium, lamina propria and peripheral bloo
d were compared by immunostaining and flow cytometry. In both skin and
oral lichen planus, selective accumulation of CLA-positive cells was
seen in the epithelium but not in the lamina propria. In contrast, lar
ge numbers of alpha e beta 7-positive intraepithelial cells were found
in oral but not in skin lichen planus. These results show that in ter
ms of CLA and alpha e beta 7 expression there are important difference
s in the mononuclear cell population of oral mucosa and skin.