Cellular architecture of normal human skin imaged by whole mount tissue microscopy. Human skin has a rich network of white blood cells (specifically dendritic cells, T cells and macrophages) which form sheaths around blood vessels. This image was taken directly beneath the junction that joins the dermal and epidermal layers of the skin (dermo-epidermal junction). At this level, the capillary network (stained for CD31; red) is visualised against a lawn of autofluorescent dermal papillae (finger-like projections of the dermis; green) scattered with dendritic cells (stained for CD11c; green) and macrophages (stained for LYVE-1; blue). This normal cellular architecture is grossly disrupted in diseased skin (see related images). Scale bar (white) represents 200 micrometres.
Dr. Xiao-nong Wang, Human Dendritic Cell Laboratory, Newcastle University
