Wells' syndrome: a pathogenic role for circulating CD4+CD7- T cells expressing interleukin-5 mRNA.

Abstract

Wells' syndrome, or eosinophilic cellulitis, is a rare dermatosis characterized histologically by a dermal infiltrate of eosinophils, lymphocytes and histiocytes between collagen bundles and amorphous or granular eosinophilic deposits on collagen, constituting flame figures. We report a 54-year-old woman with eosinophilic cellulitis whose peripheral blood showed a marked eosinophilia and a high proportion of CD4+CD7- cells before treatment. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction revealed that CD4+CD7- cells, but neither CD4+CD7+ nor CD4-CD8+ cells, in the circulating mononuclear cells expressed mRNA for interleukin (IL)-5, the major cytokine involved in eosinophilia. The proportion of CD4+CD7- cells decreased, and expression of mRNA for IL-5 disappeared in the peripheral blood, when the disease was treated by the administration of intravenous recombinant interferon-gamma. These findings suggest that circulating CD4+CD7- T cells play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of eosinophilic cellulitis by producing IL-5.

• Authors: H Yagi, Y Tokura, K Matsushita, K Hanaoka, F Furukawa, M Takigawa
• Journal: The British journal of dermatology (Br J Dermatol) Vol. 136 Issue 6 Pg. 918-23 (Jun 1997) ISSN: 0007-0963 [Print] England
• PMID: 9217826 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Antigens, CD7
• Interleukin-5
• RNA, Messenger
• Recombinant Proteins
• Interferon-gamma

Topics

• Antigens, CD7
• Cellulitis (immunology, pathology, therapy)
• Eosinophilia (immunology, pathology, therapy)
• Female
• Flow Cytometry
• Humans
• Interferon-gamma (therapeutic use)
• Interleukin-5 (genetics)
• Middle Aged
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• RNA, Messenger (analysis, metabolism)
• Recombinant Proteins
• Skin (immunology, pathology)
• Syndrome
• Th2 Cells (immunology)