Quantifying activity: a new assay reveals T-cell signalling in tiny skin biopsy samples

Discovery of skin lymphocytes was a game changer in experimental dermatology

A substantial part of ongoing research in experimental dermatology focuses on skin T cells-for that reason, we find important to highlight the pioneering work of Jan D. Bos et al. from 1987 (The skin immune system (SIS): Distribution and immunophenotype of lymphocyte subpopulations in normal skin) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3494791. This key article sets the record straight, once and for all, about the presence of lymphocytes in healthy skin, characterized the immunophenotypes of subpopulations, quantified these cells and studied their location. It was perhaps the critical discoveries made by Bos et al. that fuelled the scientific community's interest in skin lymphocytes, contributing to a new generation of cutaneous immunology research. We briefly describe additional scientific breakthroughs made since 1987. Nonetheless, the study of cutaneous lymphocytes remains essential to understand the relationship of these cells to human diseases and to develop therapies that can be leveraged to selectively mobilize, enhance or deplete these cells.