In the skin, amyloidosis can be found with or without systemic disease. Primary cutaneous amyloidosis defines those amyloidoses restricted to the skin without involvement of other systems. Here, we used conformation-specific antibodies to characterise both fibrillar and oligomeric amyloid aggregates in the skin from patients with cutaneous amyloidosis. Localised cutaneous amyloidosis with different morphology was reproduced in mice by intra-dermal (i.d.) and subdermal administration of amyloid-enhancing factor. Moreover, we demonstrated that conformational antibodies were effective in clearing amyloid deposits caused by localised intra-lesional injections without the necessity of an immune response. Given the accessibility and amyloid localization in this disease, direct i.d. injections of conformational antibodies could be a convenient and direct method for treatment.
© 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.