ELECTRON-MICROSCOPIC AND IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF LANGERHANS CELLS AND THY-1-POSITIVE CELLS IN MOUSE TONGUE EPITHELIUM SUBJECTED TO LOCAL HYPERTHERMIA

Local hyperthermia via skin has been used to treat cancer but may supp ress local immune responses as a side-effect. To examine effects of he at on immunologically responsive cells in oral mucosa, mouse tongues w ere heated by an implant system at 43 degrees C for 20 min. The densit ies of Langerhans cells and Thy-1-positive cells rapidly increased wit hin 3 h after the treatment, then returned to a normal level after 7 d ays. Electron microscopy confirmed that Langerhans cells in the tongue epithelium formed clusters with lymphocytic cells, suggesting an acti ve response to the hyperthermia.