Eosinophilic fasciitis. Increased collagen production and type I procollagen messenger RNA levels in fibroblasts cultured from involved skin.

Two patients with eosinophilic fasciitis were studied to elucidate the activation of collagen production in this disorder. Histologic examination of biopsy specimens from the involved area of skin revealed the presence of inflammatory cell infiltrates and various degrees of collagen accumulation in the dermis, subcutis, fascia, and underlying muscle. Fibroblast cultures initiated from the involved skin exhibited 2.0- to 3.7-fold increased collagen production when compared with control fibroblast cultures established from the uninvolved skin of the same patients. Eosinophilic fasciitis fibroblasts also displayed 2.4- to 6.2-fold higher steady-state levels of type I procollagen messenger RNA than did the control cells, indicating pretranslational activation of type I procollagen gene expression. In addition, cellular fibronectin messenger RNA steady-state levels were elevated 1.9- to 3.3-fold in eosinophilic fasciitis fibroblasts. These results suggest that fibroblasts in the involved skin of patients with eosinophilic fasciitis exhibit an activated phenotype, similar to that of scleroderma fibroblasts, leading to accumulation of collagen in the skin and the underlying structures.