INVESTIGATION OF SKIN-DERIVED LYMPH - AN APPROACH TO GET INSIGHT INTOTHE SKIN IMMUNE-SYSTEM

The skin acts as a mechanical, physicochemical and immunological contr ol and defense system, and its lymphatic vessels play a role in the re gulation of cell hydration and osmosis, as well as in immunological re sponses. Skin-derived signals, produced in response to various agents acting on the skin, arrive with the afferent lymph at the regional lym ph nodes. These signals reflect the immunological processes in the ski n and may also determine the reactions in the lymph node, By analyzing afferent lymph derived from specific skin lesions it should therefore be possible to get insight into local pathomechanisms as well as the signal transmission in skin disorders, In this report, we present meth odological aspects of such skin-derived lymph studies and review the r esults obtained from studies of sodium-lauryl-sulfate-induced irritati ve contact dermatitis in humans.