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Nature Medicine 8, 336 - 338 (2002)
doi:10.1038/nm0402-336

The skinny on CD39 in immunity and inflammation

Richard D. Granstein1

  1. Department of Dermatology Weill Medical College of Cornell University New York, New York, USA
    e-mail: rdgranst@med.cornell.edu


The finding that CD39 on Langerhans cells modulates inflammation and immunity in the skin might lead to new strategies to alter immune responses to benefit patients and suggests a new in vitro technique for assessing the irritant potential of topical agents. (pages 358–365)


Langerhans cells (LCs), dendritic cells within the epidermis, were discovered by a German medical student, Paul Langerhans, in 1868 when he stained sections of skin with gold chloride1. The function of cutaneous LCs remained obscure until the early 1970s when a series of observations determined that they were antigen-presenting cells2, 3, 4.

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