COEXISTENCE OF PEMPHIGUS-VULGARIS AND HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS-INFECTION IN ORAL-MUCOSA DIAGNOSED BY CYTOLOGY, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY, AND POLYMERASE-CHAIN-REACTION

A case of Pemphigous vulgaris concurrent with herpes simplex virus (HS V) infection in a 53-yr-old female is described, in which the diagnosi s was based on oral scraping cytology Two populations of abnormal cell s were identified in the oral smear. One abnormal cell population tvas characterized by the presence of numerous single cells and sheets and smaller aggregates of loosely cohesive epithelial cells that appeared to have only a few points of intercellular attachment. A second popul ation of abnormal cells showed characteristic signs of HSV infections such as ground-glass nuclear appearance and multinucleation. Subsequen tly, diagnosis of HSV infections based on polymerase chain reaction wa s applied to identify, the specific DNA for HSV type I in the Papanico laou specimens. To our knowledge, this is the first case in,which the coexistence of Pemphigus vulgaris and HSV infection in the oral mucosa was established by cytologic diagnosis. This is discussed in view of our recent experience with this unusual oral lesion. (C) 1998 Wiley-Li ss,Inc.