3-DIMENSIONAL APPEARANCE OF LANGERHANS CELLS IN HUMAN GINGIVAL EPITHELIUM AS REVEALED BY CONFOCAL LASER-SCANNING MICROSCOPY

Detailed three-dimensional morphological information of the cell witho ut distortion due to thin sectioning can be obtained from thick sectio ns using a confocal laser scanning microscope. Here that microscope wa s used to evaluate human gingival Langerhans cells stained with anti-C D1a antibody. Optical sectioning and reconstruction by laser scanning microscopy revealed not only three-dimensional aspects of Langerhans c ells but also spatial information on the distribution of their dendrit ic processes towards the gingival surface. The orientated configuratio n of those processes may reflect the reaction of the gingival Langerha ns cell to the surrounding moist environment containing antigenic stim uli originating in saliva. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.