Deposits Of Immunoglobulins And Complement In Skin Of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Influence Of Anti-Rheumatic Treatment

Abstract

Immunopathological studies on skin biopsies from 88 patients with rheumatoid arthritis showed that 1/3 of them had deposits of Ig[immunoglobulin]M and/or C3 [complement component 3] in the walls of small vessels immediately underneath the dermal-epidermal junction. The deposits in the vessel walls which may reflect subclinical immune complex vasculitis could be correlated to the occurrence of IgG-rheumatoid factor in the serum, but not to IgM-rheumatoid factor, other extra-articular manifestations, or to the occurrence of circulating immune complexes demonstrated by the C consumption test or the thrombocyte aggregation test. Two untreated patients had granular deposits in the dermal-epidermal junction. Out of 50 patients, 5 developed deposits in the dermal-epidermal junction during treatment with levamisole, penicillamine, or azathioprine as observed by serial skin biopsies.