ABSTRACT
C ontact hypersensitivity (CHS), clinically presenting as allergic contact dermatitis, is a T cell-mediated cutaneous immune inflammatory response to reactive haptens. A1 though CHS is generally thought of as a Langerhans cell-dependent, T h l type im mune reaction, much is unknown about the complicated molecular mechanisms underlying CHS. With the advent of gene-targeting technology, a variety of gene knockout mouse models have been used in CH S research. Such studies have significandy contributed to our under standing o f the molecular mechanisms comprising the CH S response. This review article sum marizes about 70 different gene knockouts used to date in the field o f CHS and discusses the contributions these studies have made toward understanding the molecular requirements for CHS initiation.
