Demonstration of Birbeck (Langerhans cells) granules in the normal chicken epidermis

Abstract

Mammalian Langerhans cells (LC) are epidermal dendritic cells which originate in bone marrow and migrate toward the T cell area of lymph nodes, where they act as professional antigen-presenting cells. A variety of cell surface markers, such as the ectoenzyme adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), Ia and CD1a antigens, have been used extensively to identify LC. Ultrastructural identification of this cell type in the mammalian epidermis is made by the demonstration of a typical and unique cytoplasmic organelle, the Birbeck granule (BG). Although we had earlier demonstrated the coexpression of ATPase and Ia antigens on epidermal dendritic cells of the chicken epidermis, the presence of the BG has not previously been documented. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether chicken epidermal LC-like cells possess an organelle similar to the BG, and thus to complete their identification. Our findings are the first demonstration of characteristic rod-shaped, racket-shaped and disc-shaped intracytoplasmic organelles, morphologically similar to the mammalian BG, in avian LC.