Benign mast cell hyperplasia and atypical mast cell infiltrates in penile lichen planus in adult men

Abstract

Introduction. Lichen planus (LP) is a chronic cytokine-mediated disease of possible auto-immune etiology. 25% of men have anogenital manifestations. Erosive penile LP causes a scarring phimosis of the foreskin in uncircumcised men. Mast cells as potent immune modulators have been implicated in a number of autoimmune and chronic inflammatory diseases, but have not been investigated in LP. Material and Methods. Formalin-fixed tissues of 117 circumcision specimens of adult men affected by LP were evaluated for the extent of mast cell and lymphocyte infiltrates, characterized immunohistochemically with antibodies to CD 3, 4, 8, 20, 21, 25, 30, 117c and human mast cell tryptase. Specimens with dense mast cell infiltrates were analyzed for point mutations of the c-kit gene (D816V). Results. Unaffected skin and modified mucosa of foreskins contained <5 mast cells/mm2. The inflammatory infiltrate of LP-lesions displayed <15 mast cells/mm2 in 33/117 foreskins, 16-40 mast cells/mm2 in 22/117 and >40 mast cells/mm2 (average 70, range 40-100) in 62/117 foreskins. Lesional mast cells of 29/117 (24%) foreskins showed aberrant CD25-expression and/or spindled morphology, with 11/29 men having erosive LP, 13/29 a lymphocytic vasculitis and 1/28 a systemic mastocytosis. Neither CD30-expression nor c-kit mutations were identified. Atypical mast cell infiltrates in LP correlated with high disease activity, erosive LP and presence of lymphocytic vasculitis. Conclusions. Increased mast cells in penile LP, mostly representing a benign hyperplasia / activation syndrome, suggests them as targets for innovative therapy options for symptomatic LP-patients not responding to corticosteroid therapy. Presently, the biological implications of atypical mast cell infiltrates in penile LP are unknown.