Alterations induced in normal human skin by in vivo interferon-gamma

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Abstract
In a study of the direct effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-.gamma.) on normal human skin, healthy adult male volunteers received either 3 .mu.g (n = 4) or 30 .mu.g (n = 9) of recombinant IFN-.gamma. administered intradermally over 3 days. Biopsies were taken on day 6 and histopathological examination of fixed paraffin-embedded sections from sites which had received 30 .mu.g IFN-.gamma. revealed a moderate perivascular lymphohistiocytic dermal infiltrate with mast cells. Immunophenotyping of 5 .mu.m cryostat sections demonstrated that 3 .mu.g IFN-.gamma. induced keratinocyte HLA-DR expression in the absence of any significant infiltrate. More intense keratinocyte HLA-DR expression was produced by 30 .mu.g IFN-.gamma. in all specimens, with HLA-DP concurrently expressed in three biopsies. The ratio of CD4:CD8 cells within the infiltrate was approximately 3:I. CDI+ cells within the epidermis were markedly depleted by 30 .mu.g IFN-.gamma., while CDI-labelled cells were observed in the dermal perivascular infiltrate. Intradermal IFN-.gamma. induces similar immunopathological changes to those observed in many of the inflammatory dermatoses.