Figure 2.

Increased expression of LOX and ED-A FN in dcSSc skin. Cryosections of (a,b) normal skin are compared with (c-f) dcSSc skin. In normal skin, immunostaining for LOX was detected in epidermal cells ((a) arrow). In dcSSc skin, immunostaining for LOX was detected in fibroblast-like cells throughout the dermis ((c,e) arrows) and in cells of the microvascular wall ((e) arrowhead). Little or no expression of ED-A FN was detectable in (b) normal skin, however, ED-A FN immunostaining was markedly increased in dcSSc skin ((d,f) arrows). Immunostaining for ED-A FN was also detected in cells of the microvascular wall ((f) arrowhead). Original magnification (a-d) × 10 and (e,f) × 20. dcSSc, diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis; ED-A FN, ED-A splice variant of fibronectin; LOX, lysyl oxidase.