The Influence of Haematoporphyrin Derivative and Visible Light on Murine Skin Graft Survival, Epidermal Langerhans Cells and Stimulation of the Allogeneic Mixed Leucocyte Reaction

Abstract

The influence of combined photochemical treatment with a hematoporphyrin derivative and visible light on antigen-presenting cells was evaluated. Treatment of murine skin grafts with this procedure prolonged their subsequent survival on allogeneic recipients. The hematoporphyrin derivative and light decreased the ATPase activity of epidermal Langerhans cells in murine skin. When stimulator cells in a human allogeneic mixed leukocyte reaction were treated with the hematoporphyrin derivative and light, they lost their stimulatory capacity. It is proposed that the hematoporphyrin derivative and visible light interfere, on analogy with UV radiation, with the function of antigen-presenting cells.