Angiokeratoma corporis diffusum (Fabry's disease) with unusual features in a female patient. Light- and electron-microscopic investigation

Abstract

A case of clinically apparent angiokeratoma corporis diffusum (Fabry's disease) in an adult female carrier is presented. The patient had biochemical evidence of the disease, and showed multiple cutaneous lesions, in the absence of other major organ involvement. Ultrastructural examination of tissue fragments obtained by skin biopsies demonstrated the presence of a few typical electron-dense lamellar structures in endothelial cells, but not in smooth muscle cells. Electron microscopy proved to be the only effective way of detecting the intracytoplasmic inclusions, since light-microscopic histochemistry failed to reveal small amounts of the stored glycolipid. The exclusive involvement of endothelial cells suggests that they are more prone to store glycolipid than are all other types of cells usually involved in the disease. The abundance of intermediate filaments in the cytoplasm of endothelial cells is related exclusively to the high blood pressure in angiomatous arteriovenous shunts.