Acantholysis induced by proteolytic enzymes. I. Porcine pancreatic elastase.

In an attempt to induce acantholysis in cultivated normal human epidermis, porcine pancreatic elastase was used. After 30 minutes, the intercellular contact layers of desmosomes appeared discontinuous. Following the disappearance of the intercellular filamentous structures, desmosomes ruptured into two, and in 3 hours, typical acantholysis was observed. After 15 minutes, prior to the desmosomal changes, dermo-epidermal separation started at the subepidermal space. After 2 hours of elastase influence, anchoring filaments and the basal lamina were degraded. Five hours from the start of culture, the anchoring fibrils remained undigested by elastase. The mechanism of elastase influence on epidermis is assumed to depend rather on its proteolytic activity than on its elastolytic activity.