Histopathology of the Sporotrichin Skin Test

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Abstract
A histopathological study of the skin test with sporotrichin was done, 2 kinds of antigens being used: one is a killed culture of the microorganism (N antigen) and the other is a poly-saccharide extracted from the Sporotrichum schenckii (P antigen). Both antigens showed, up to 72 hours after the injection in patients with disease, an intense inflammatory process around skin appendages and small blood vessels, histocytes being the predominant cells. Four to 6 days after, P antigen was responsible for small granu-lomata in the same location; well formed granulomata were seen around the 8th day. The N antigen reaction showed around the 5th to 8th day, besides periadnexial and perivascular histiocytic inflammatory process, granulomata with suppurative centers. These granulomata healed around the 12th to 14th day after antigen injection. At the same time the histiocytic perivascular and periadnexial infiltrate became more and more prominent including small granulomata formation. Considering that the polysaccharide (P) antigen is soluble and able to determine a granulomatous reaction, it seems that, in spite of the fact that many factors can be responsible for granulomata formation, hypersensitivity seems to be one of them. The similarity between the sporotrichin reaction with N antigen and the lesions seen in the human natural infection with the S. schenckii, was observed. The so-called "syphiloid zone" was lacking in the sporotrichin reaction, otherwise the similarity was complete. On the other hand, allergy must be basic in Sporotrichosis because the inflammatory reaction is intense and parasites are not easy to demonstrate in the lesions. The similarity of the reaction seen in the natural disease and one observed after N antigen injection, which is undoubtelly allergic, seems to be another fact in favor of this hypothesis.

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