Ultrastructure of the dermal microvasculature in leprosy

Infection with M. leprae may lead to the presence of the organism within the dermal vascular endothelium, a phenomenon most pronounced in lepromatous leprosy. In order to study the ultrastructural features of the dermal microvasculature in leprosy, biopsies from 18 patients with lepromatous (14), bo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inInternational journal of leprosy and other mycobacterial diseases Vol. 50; no. 2; p. 164
Main Authors Turkel, S B, Van Hale, H M, Rea, T H
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.06.1982
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Capillaries - pathology
Capillaries - ultrastructure
Erythema Nodosum - pathology
Female
Humans
Inflammation - pathology
Leprosy - pathology
Lymphocytes - pathology
Macrophages - pathology
Male
Mast Cells - pathology
Microcirculation
Microscopy, Electron
Middle Aged
Phagocytosis
Skin - blood supply
Skin - pathology
Skin - ultrastructure
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Summary:Infection with M. leprae may lead to the presence of the organism within the dermal vascular endothelium, a phenomenon most pronounced in lepromatous leprosy. In order to study the ultrastructural features of the dermal microvasculature in leprosy, biopsies from 18 patients with lepromatous (14), borderline lepromatous (1) and borderline tuberculoid (3) leprosy were examined. Four patients with Lucio's phenomenon and four with erythema nodosum leprosum were included. The ultrastructural changes in the dermal microvasculature included endothelial swelling and hypertrophy, increased endothelial and pericytic cytoplasmic processes, and pronounced basal lamina reduplication. Occasional large, pale, endothelial cells with widely dispersed organelles were encountered. Phagocytized, membrane-bound intraendothelial organisms were found, similar in appearance to those within dermal macrophages. The predominantly perivascular dermal inflammatory infiltrate consisted of lymphocytes, macrophages and mast cells. The observed ultrastructural changes in the dermal microvasculature are similar to those previously described in the endoneurial vessels. While reflecting nonspecific responses of the dermal microvasculature in chronic inflammation, the findings support a possible role of the small dermal vessels in the chronic nature of the host's response to infection with M. leprae.
ISSN:0148-916X
1544-581X