IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL LOCALIZATION OF INTRACELLULAR AND EXTRACELLULAR ASSOCIATED TGF-BETA IN THE SKIN OF PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC-SCLEROSIS (SCLERODERMA) AND PRIMARY RAYNAUD PHENOMENON

We have investigated the distribution of TGFβ using antibodies specific for its intracellular and extracellular forms in full-thickness biopsies of patients with SSc, primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and from normal subjects. Nine of 11 SSc biopsies demonstrated intracellular TGFβ in endothelial cells while only 6 exhibited extracellular TGFβ. Endothelial cells in skin biopsies of all PRP patients displayed both intracellular and extracellular TGFβ. All other control biopsies were negative. In patients with PRP, some positively staining fibroblasts were found scattered throughout the dermis. Lastly, extracellular TGFβ was localized in the papillary dermis of PRP and SSc biopsies and in all the dermal layers of SLE patients. No significant staining of TGFβ was observed in the endothelial cells, fibroblasts, or in the extracellular matrix of the majority of biopsies from normal subjects. These data suggest that TGFβ may be one of the cytokines involved in the early stages of pathogenesis of SSc, and that endothelial cells in SSc and PRP may be a source and/or a target of TGFβ. © 1993 Academic Press. All rights reserved.