Prostaglandin E2 in blister fluid of bullous diseases and experimental suction blisters.

Prostaglandin(PG)-like activity in the fluid of spontaneous and suction blisters was measured by bioassay on isolated guinea-pig colon after acidic lipid extraction. The fluid from spontaneous blisters in 15 patients with various bullous dermatoses, such as pemphigoid, porphyria cutanea tarda, erythema multiforme, contact dermatitis, X-ray dermatitis, all contained measurable amounts of activity, varying from 0.4 to 54 ng/ml, expressed as PGE2-activity. From 4 patients with pemphigoid, samples of fluid were collected, adequate to permit of analysis regarding the identity of the spasmogenic material. In silicic acid column chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and in reversed phase partition chromatography, the major part of the biological activity co-chromatographed with 3H-PGE2. In one patient part of the activity coincided with PGF2alpha. The PG-like activity of experimental suction blisters was found to be significantly higher in patients with dermatitis herpetiformis than in control and psoriasis patients. The appearance of PGs in blister fluid is compatible with a role as chemical mediator involved in blister formation.