Br. Smoller et J. Bortz, IMMUNOPHENOTYPIC ANALYSIS SUGGESTS THAT GRANULOMA-FACIALE IS A GAMMA-INTERFERON-MEDIATED PROCESS, Journal of cutaneous pathology, 20(5), 1993, pp. 442-446
Granuloma faciale (GF) is an uncommon inflammatory dermatosis with cha
racteristic clinical and histologic features. Very little is known abo
ut its pathogenesis. We used a battery of immunoperoxidase lymphocyte
markers to study the population of hematopoetic cells present in a cas
e of GF. The majority of non-myelocytic hematopoetic cells present wer
e T-helper lymphocytes. The cells stained strongly with antibodies aga
inst the interleukin-2 receptor and with anti-lymphocyte functional an
tigen (LFA 1alpha) antibodies. Overlying keratinocytes did not stain w
ith ICAM-1 or HLA-DR, which may account for the presence of the Grenz
zone in granuloma faciale. These findings suggest that a gamma-interfe
ron-mediated process may play some role in the pathogenesis of this di
sorder.