AUTHOR=Lindford Andrew , Juteau Susanna , Jaks Viljar , Klaas Mariliis , Lagus Heli , Vuola Jyrki , Kankuri Esko TITLE=Case Report: Unravelling the Mysterious Lichtenberg Figure Skin Response in a Patient With a High-Voltage Electrical Injury JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=8 YEAR=2021 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.663807 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.663807 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

We describe a case of Lichtenberg Figures (LFs) following an electrical injury from a high-voltage switchgear in a 47 year-old electrician. LFs, also known as ferning pattern or keraunographic markings, are a pathognomonic skin sign for lightning strike injuries. Their true pathophysiology has remained a mystery and only once before described following an electical injury. The aim was to characterise the tissue response of LFs by performing untargeted non-labelled proteomics and immunohistochemistry on paraffin-embedded sections of skin biopsies taken from the area of LFs at presentation and at 3 months follow-up. Our results demonstrated an increase in dermal T-cells and greatly increased expression of the iron-binding glycoprotein lactoferrin by keratinocytes and lymphocytes. These changes in the LF-affected skin were associated with extravasation of red blood cells from dermal vessels. Our results provide an initial molecular and cellular insight into the tissue response associated with LFs.