¹Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Correspondence: Dr Michael Girardi, Associate Professor and Residency Director, Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8059, USA. Email: michael.girardi@yale.edu

Received 20 June 2005; Revised 19 August 2005; Accepted 2 September 2005.

Abstract

Whereas the vast majority of T cells express a T-cell receptor (TCR) composed of heterodimers, a smaller population expresses a TCR. In contrast to T cells, T cells show less TCR diversity, are particularly enriched at epithelial surfaces and appear to respond to self-molecules that signal potential danger or cellular stress. In addition, various subsets of T cells have shown antitumor and immunoregulatory activities. This review considers what has been discovered about the important cutaneous functions of T cells through the study of mutant mice and offers perspectives on the roles of T cells in human disease.