Abstract
The number of lymphatic vessels has been reported to be lower in the lesional skin of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients than in the skin of healthy controls. We examined the number of lymphatic vessels in the papillary and reticular dermis of forearm skin of SSc patients (41 cases) using immunostaining for D2-40, a selective marker for lymphatic endothelium. Lymphatic vessels in the dermis were significantly decreased in number in the patients with severe dermal fibrosis. The number of lymphatic vessels was also significantly decreased in patients with anti-topoisomerase I antibody-positive diffuse cutaneous SSc compared with that of patients with anti-centromere antibody-positive limited cutaneous SSc (P<0.05). The differences were significant, especially in the reticular dermis, suggesting that lymphangiopathy at the level of collector vessels may have a diverse pathogenetic role in the progression of SSc.
