title: 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.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yagi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tokura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hanaoka
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takigawa
mesh_terms: D019011:Antigens, CD7; D002481:Cellulitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015848:Interleukin-5 / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D013577:Syndrome; D018418:Th2 Cells / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019011:Antigens, CD7; D015848:Interleukin-5; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007371:Interferon-gamma