Laser 3D-modeling of the image of the LYVE-1 marker expression in skin lymphatic vessels and prelymphatics in patients with urticaria pigmentosa

We conducted a comprehensive study (histological examination using Mayer's hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemical LYVE-1 study, 3D-modeling of the picture of the LYVE-1 expression using the laser holotomographic confocal microscope Nanolive (The 3D Cell Explorer; Switzerland) of various parts of the lymphatic system of the epidermis (prelimphatic) and dermis (lymphatic vessels) of the skin in patients with urticaria pigmentosa. Congestion in blood and lymphatic vessels was detected in the papillary and reticular layers in patients' skin dermis. This contributed to the formation of microcirculatory disorders, perivascular infiltrates and the development of intracellular and intercellular epidermis edema, the death of individual cells. LYVE-1 positive staining was detected in the lymphatic vessel endothelium (both the papillary layer of the skin and deeper layers of the dermis). We have first revealed a pronounced LYVE-1 positive immunohistochemical staining in the epidermis stratum spinosum cells and a less pronounced marker signal in the stratum basale cells of the human skin epidermis, that allows us to consider the spaces between epidermal cells as prelymphatics and indicates either the presence of compensatory LYVE-1 positive receptors in epidermal cells, or the role of LYVE-1, which is more specific than previously thought. Our 3D-modeling of the picture of the LYVE-1 marker expression in patients' skin epidermis confirms that cells of the predominantly epithelial stratum spinosum and to a lesser extent the epithelial stratum basale in patients with cutaneous mastocytosis participate in the hyaluronan lymphatic transport and the spaces between cells can be considered as prelimphatics of the skin epidermis.