Figure 10
From: Prognosticators of melanoma, the melanoma report, and the sentinel lymph node
Sentinel lymph node involvement and the ‘veiled’ antigen-presenting cell. Dendritic antigen-presenting cells migrate from the lymphatic bed of the primary cutaneous melanoma to enter the draining lymph node through afferent lymphatics. While in transit, these dendritic antigen-presenting cells lose their dendritic morphology, the phenotypic hallmark of which is loss of CD-80 and CD-86 expression. If these antigen-presenting cells remain ‘veiled’ (ie CD-80 and CD-86 negative) when in the paracortex of the lymph node, the possibility of nonsentinel lymph node involvement in the drainage basis may be higher. This process is alleged to reflect immune suppression mediated by some cytokine or cytokines elaborated by the melanoma cells.
