Localized scleroderma is generally considered to be limited to the skin and to the subcutaneous tissue beneath the cutaneous lesions. Previous studies have revealed that this disease is accompanied by various immunologic abnormalities. Recently, we discovered that the major antigens of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) detected in localized scleroderma are nuclear histones.1 In addition, we found that the serum levels of interleukin (IL) 2, IL-4, IL-6, and soluble IL-2 receptor were significantly elevated in patients with localized scleroderma, which suggests that T-cell activation is also involved in its pathogenesis.2
Interleukin 8 is known to be chemotactic for neutrophilic granulocytes and T lymphocytes and is produced by a variety of cell types, such as epithelial cells, fibroblasts (including dermal fibroblasts), and endothelial cells.3,4
Recently Reitamo et al5 reported that IL-8 was detected in 21 (19%) of 108 serum samples of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) but not in