Follicular mucinosis associated with scarring alopecia, oligoclonal T-cell receptor Vβ expansion, and Staphylococcus aureus: When does follicular mucinosis become mycosis fungoides?

Abstract A diagnosis of alopecia mucinosa, occurring as a single scalp lesion, was made in a 40-year-old white woman who had a history of trauma. Follicular mucinosis, Staphylococcus aureus , and oligoclonal expansion of the T-cell receptor Vβ chain genes 6 and 7 were present in the skin. Epidermotropic T-cell skin diseases with oligoclonal T-cell proliferations may be the result of HLA- and cytokine-determined reaction patterns to persistent antigens. (J Am Acad Dermatol 1997;36:828-31.)