CATIE IMMUNOMODULATORS: DNCB and the immune system

IMMUNOMODULATORS: DNCB and the immune system

TreatmentUpdate43: Vol. 4, No. 3, July, 1993
Sean Hosein

DNCB is a chemical used to develop color film. It has also been used in air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Medically, DNCB has been used in crude tests of immunofunctions. For this purpose DNCB is usually dissolved in alcohol or acetone and then put on the skin. There the compound causes a minor allergic reaction, restricted to the small area where DNCB was applied. DNCB penetrates the skin and comes into contact with cells of the immune system known as Langerhans cells and macrophages. These cells "notice and capture" the DNCB and present the compound to CD4+ cells as an intruder. The immune system is then activated. When DNCB is placed on the skin two to four weeks later the reaction--swelling and redness is usually faster compared to the first time the drug was applied to the skin.

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ÆGIS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, iMetrikus, Inc., the National Library of Medicine, and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1993.

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