Avoiding strategic surprises: beware of the lurkers!

The most challenging surprises in strategic projects are those that have been hiding in plain sight from the beginning, write Verena Stingl and Josef Oehme

Creating momentum for digital transformation without a burning platform

To drive your digital transformation, you need to become skilful in connecting the past, present and future in a compelling story, write Verena Stingl, Marcus Lantz and Josef Oehme

Smart and simple strategy decisions to minimise regret

Why we should not try to pick the best option, but instead use simple rules to eliminate the worst choices - by Verena Stingl, Joana Geraldi and Josef Oehme

Covid-19 and the legitimacy of drastic action: lessons from megaproject management

Business leaders and policymakers have to focus on securing public support for impactful actions, write Josef Oehmen, Verena Stingl and Petr Wit

Immunopathologic Features of Allergic Contact Dermatitis in Humans: Participation of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in the Pathogenesis of the Disease?

Contrary to our abundant knowledge about the sensitization phase of human contact hypersensitivity, little is known about the cell types orchestrating the effector phase. In order to address this issue, we phenotypically analyzed biopsies from 72 h epicutaneous patch test reactions (n=10) and normal human skin (n=5) for the presence of various leukocyte differentiation antigens. The inflammatory infiltrate was dominated by CD3+/CD4+ T cells with approximately 30% of the cells coexpressing CD25 and CTLA-4, a phenotype consistent with either activated effector or regulatory T cells. In our search for professional antigen-presenting cells, we were surprised to find not only sizeable numbers of CD1a+ dendritic cells and CD1c+ dendritic cells, but also of CD123+, CD45RA+, BDCA-2+, CLA+, and CD62L+ plasmacytoid dendritic cells. Although virtually absent in normal human skin, these cells were detectable already 6 h after hapten challenge and were often found in close proximity to CD56+ natural killer cells, indicative of a functional interaction between these cell types. The detailed knowledge of the cellular composition of the inflammatory infiltrate in allergic contact dermatitis and its kinetics should form the basis for the investigation of the immunologic and molecular events operative in the perpetuation and resolution of the eczematous response