EPIDERMAL LANGERHANS' CELLS IN GRANULOMA ANNULARE

ABSTRACT Langerhans' cells were studied in the epidermis of two patients with Granuloma Annulare (GA) of the generalized type and compared with those in two normal controls. The percentage of Langerhans' cells in the GA epidermis population was 3.4% and in the control, 1.8%. The density of Langerhans' cells in different adjacent sites of the same epidermis was not uniform, being in the range of 0.9–5% in GA and 0.6–4% in controls. In the GA epidermis, the Langerhans' cell section area was increased by about 40% and the number of Langerhans' cell granules found per cell section by about 41%. The findings may indicate that, in granuloma annulare epidermis, the Langerhans' cells are in a more active state.