Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus

Gilliam recognized subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE) as a lupus-specific eruption that identifies a unique subset of lupus erythematosus. These patients were noted to have prominent photoaggravated skin disease and often had musculoskeletal complaints, but generally did not develop significant systemic disease. SCLE patients were later found to have other distinctive features, including the frequent presence of anti-Ro antibodies, and enrichment for the human histocompatibility antigens (HLA) B8 and DR3. In the 13 years of published reports of SCLE patients following the initial study by Sontheimer et al (Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus: a cutaneous marker for a distinct lupus erythematosus subset. Arch Dermatol 115:1409–1415, 1979) a number of additional observations regarding SCLE patients have been made. These have included the recognition that SCLE may be associated with other rheumatic diseases, and that photoactive medications may induce lesions of SCLE. Areas of controversy concerning SCLE include conflicting studies regarding the histopathology of SCLE as compared to discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE), as well as the frequency of detection of anti-Ro antibodies in SCLE patients. Recent interesting studies of SCLE include a description of a unique pattern of immunoglobulin G (IgG) deposition on direct immunofluorescence, which may indicate the binding of anti-Ro antibodies to keratinocytes in vivo. J Invest Dermatol 100:2S-8S, 1993