Role of phagocytic macrophages in induction of contact hypersensitivity and tolerance by hapten applied to normal and ultraviolet B-irradiated skin.

Liposomes containing the drug dichloromethylene diphosphonate (Cl2MDP) can eliminate phagocytic cells, such as macrophages, when injected in vivo. In this paper we report that Cl2MDP-containing liposomes have been used experimentally to determine the extent to which cutaneous macrophages participate (1) in the induction of contact hypersensitivity (CH) when hapten is painted on normal murine skin, and (2) in the induction of CH or tolerance when hapten is painted on murine skin that has been exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. Intradermal (i.d.) injections of Cl2MDP-containing liposomes were found to have no deleterious effects on CH induction via normal skin, whether the amount of hapten (dinitrofluorobenzene) applied to the cutaneous surface was optimal or excessive. Moreover, Cl2MDP-containing liposomes did not deplete the epidermis of Langerhans' cells. However, similar i.d. injections of Cl2MDP-containing liposomes did prevent the induction of CH when hapten was painted on UVB-irradiated skin of BALB/c mice, a strain that develops CH when hapten is applied to UVB-exposed skin. These findings indicate that the antigen-presenting cell (APC) function found in skin of UVB-resistant mice following exposure to UVB radiation can be attributed to macrophages. This explains why these mice develop and display CH after UVB radiation. By contrast, i.d. injections of Cl2MDP-containing liposomes failed to prevent the induction of the tolerance when hapten was applied to the surface of UVB-exposed skin of UVB-susceptible mice, such as C57BL/6. Since the dermis of UVB-exposed skin of these mice is known to contain a novel population of cells that can provide a tolerance-conferring signal, the current findings rule out macrophages as the responsible cell type.