BACKGROUND: Mucocutaneous leishmaniasis is a parasitic infectious disease with relevant immunological aspects. OBJECTIVE: To study the histopathological and immunohistochemical aspects of 21 leishmaniasis tegumentary biopsies. METHODS: Polyclonal anti-Leishmania antibody was used to confirm the presence of Leishmania amastigotes. Histopathological classification comprised I-V standard groups. The immunopathological pattern was evaluated as to the presence of FXIIIa+ dermal dendrocytes, CD1a+ Langerhans cells, CD68+ macrophages, CD20+ B lymphocytes, and CD3+ T lymphocytes. The FXIIIa+ cells were quantified and compared to specimens of normal skin obtained from unexposed areas. The other cells were counted in a semi-quantitative way. The number of FXIIIa+ cells was statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Among the histopathological groups, I and II standards prevailed. The FXIIIa+ cells were observed for different aspects and compared to normal skin, without significant statistical differences (p = 0.157). There was no relation between the amount of CD1a+, CD68+, CD20+ and CD3+ cells when compared to each other or to FXIIIa+ cells. CONCLUSION: There was no difference between the number of FXIIIa+ cells in leishmaniasis and in normal skin. However, more studies are needed in order to understand the role of FXIIIa+ cells in leishmaniasis.
Autoimmunity; Cutaneous leishmaniasis; Dendritic cells; Factor XIIIa
