Depletion of Langerhans cells in the tongue from patients with advanced-stage acquired immune deficiency syndrome: relation to opportunistic infections.

AIMS: To quantify and compare the expression of Langerhans cells (LCs) in the tongue mucosa of AIDS patients with different opportunistic infections, and from acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and non-AIDS patients with normal tongues, using autopsy material.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Human leucocyte antigen D-related (HLA-DR), CD1a and CD83 antibodies were used to identify and quantify LCs by immunohistochemistry in tongue tissue of 40 AIDS patients (10 with lingual candidiasis, 10 with lingual herpes, 10 with oral hairy leukoplakia and 10 with no lesions) and 23 tongues from human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-negative control patients. Quantification was performed by means of conventional morphometry in four different regions (anterior, middle, posterior and lateral) of the tongue. The results were expressed as positive cells per area of epithelium. The AIDS patients presented a lower density of CD1a(+) cells (P < 0.001), HLA-DR (P < 0.003) and CD83 (P < 0.001) in all regions of the tongue compared to the non-AIDS control group. However, no differences in any of the markers were found when AIDS patients with different opportunistic infections were compared with AIDS patients without tongue infection.

CONCLUSIONS: Advanced stage AIDS patients showed a depletion of LCs in the tongue mucosa. HIV infection induces cytopathic changes in LCs, contributing to their depletion regardless of the presence of oral infections.