Ultrastructural study of the skin in Sjögren-Larsson syndrome

The ichthyosiform skin and the uninvolved skin of a 5-year-old Japanese female with Sjögren-Larsson syndrome were examined by light and electron microscopy to elucidate the keratinization disorder. Light microscopically, the epidermis of the ichthyosiform skin showed acanthosis, papillomatosis and hyperkeratosis. The horny cells had a basket-weave appearance. The granular cell layer was slightly thickened. Slight round cell infiltration and vascular dilatation were seen in the upper dermis. The uninvolved skin was histologically normal. Electron microscopically, in both ichthyosiform and uninvolved skin, abnormal lamellar or membranous inclusions were present in the cytoplasm of horny cells of the epidermis. These inclusions appeared to be derived from some of the lamellar bodies and/or abnormal membranous structures found in the cytoplasm of spinous and granular cells. Mitochondria in the epidermal basal cells were more numerous in the ichthyosiform skin than in the uninvolved skin. These findings indicate that, whether the skin is involved or not, the epidermis of the patient with this disorder may always have a structural abnormality, which may be genetically determined. Local environmental factors may play a role in inducing the acanthosis and papillomatosis of the epidermis.