抄録
Our previous report illustrated that the epithelium of the human esophagus has numerous lymphocytes and Langerhans cells with Birbeck granules. In the present study, the distribution of Langerhans cells in the human esophagus was examined immunohistochemically. The human esophageal specimens were obtained by the surgery for esophageal carcinoma with informed consent. The tissue blocks were fixed with 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin. The thin sections were treated with anti-S-100 protein antibody, placed in IgG-gold (5 nm) solution as a second antibody, and then sensitized with the physical development method. The Langerhans cells, which showed a positive immunoreaction for the S-100, were distributed within the epithelium throughout the esophagus. Their distribution patterns differed according to the region of the esophagus. The Langerhans cells tended to increase in number as they moved further from the oral cavity toward the abdominal part. In this study, it was suggested that they played important roles in the immune response of the human esophagus.
