Fibrin deposits and fibrinolytic activity in Schonlein-Henoch syndrome.

Previous reports have shown that alterations in cutaneous and plasmatic fibrinolytic activity are found in cutaneous necrotizing vasculitis (CNV). In a combined investigation with direct immunofluorescence and autohistographic evaluation of tissue fibrinolytic activity in the lesional skin of 20 subjects affected by Schonlein-Henoch (SH) syndrome, there was a marked decrease in cutaneous fibrinolytic activity in SH syndrome accompanied by deposits of fibrin-like material at the dermo-epidermal junction and around the small blood vessels of dermis in affected skin. These data suggest some interactions between decreased fibrinolytic activity, fibrin deposits, and the tissue damage in the development of skin changes in SH syndrome.