Hyaluronate in suction blisters from patients with scleroderma and various skin disorders

With a specific radioassay hyaluronic acid (hyaluronate) concentrations have been determined in suction blister fluid from abdominal skin and serum. Healthy subjects, patients with acrosclerosis, CRST, mucinosis and urticaria had 0.8-5.6 micrograms/ml of hyaluronate in their suction blisters, which is about 100 times more than the serum level. Increased concentrations were noted in blister fluid from patients with active lesions of systemic and localized scleroderma as well as lichen sclerosus. Here the increase could be due to an increased production of hyaluronate in the dermis. High levels of hyaluronate were, however, also found in blister fluid from patients with other types of inflamed skin. An increased leakage into the blister of hyaluronate from the dermis, probably through the lymph vessels, therefore seems best to explain the high concentrations of hyaluronate.