title: Diagnostic significance of membrane attack complex and vitronectin in childhood dermatomyositis.
abstract: In the current study, whether particular histologic distributions of membrane attack complex and vitronectin are correlated to clinical characteristics of patients with childhood dermatomyositis was investigated. The specimens from 11 patients with childhood dermatomyositis were examined immunocytochemically and compared with those taken from 6 adult dermatomyositis and 5 childhood polymyositis patients. Four out of five membrane attack complex-positive specimens were derived from patients who were within 1 to 3 months from the onset of childhood dermatomyositis and were not treated with prednisone. There were two patients at early stages of childhood dermatomyositis without pathologic characteristics of the disease. However, marked deposits of membrane attack complex on capillaries were seen in one of them. The immunoreactivity of vitronectin was detected at locations similar to those of membrane attack complex. Our results suggest that the detection of membrane attack complex and vitronectin in muscle capillaries will help us diagnose childhood dermatomyositis at an early stage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Koshigaya Hospital, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, Saitama, Japan. sakuta@dokkyomed.ac.jp
authors.forename: Ryoichi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakuta
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Toshiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagai
authors.forename: Ikuya
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nonaka
authors.forename: Ichizo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nishino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015938:Complement Membrane Attack Complex / Q000378:metabolism*; D003882:Dermatomyositis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D019096:Vitronectin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D015415:Biomarkers; D015938:Complement Membrane Attack Complex; D019096:Vitronectin; D011239:Prednisolone