A case of progesterone-induced anaphylaxis, cyclic urticaria/angioedema, and autoimmune dermatitis.

OBJECTIVE

Women have exhibited anaphylaxis, urticaria/angioedema, and autoimmune progesterone dermatitis (APD) coinciding with the progesterone premenstrual rise. We report a detailed immunological evaluation of such a woman responsive to a gonadotropin hormone-releasing agonist (GHRA).

METHODS

Skin testing, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), leukocyte histamine release (LHR), and inhibition assays were performed to demonstrate progesterone immunoresponsiveness.

RESULTS

Serum specific-progesterone immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgE were detected initially and disappeared 6 months after GHRA treatment. Dose-response LHR using patient basophils was observed for different hormones but after 3 months persisted only for 5β-pregnanediol. Preincubation with mouse antiprogesterone monoclonal antibody (PmAb) or mifepristone, a progesterone inhibitor, over a range of doses inhibited specific progesterone-induced LHR. Experiments with varying progesterone concentrations and a fixed dose of anti-IgE resulted in 100% LHR at a concentration as low as 0.016 nmol/mL, which, without anti-IgE, failed to release histamine.

CONCLUSIONS

This is the first report of combined recurrent anaphylaxis, cyclic urticaria/angioedema, and APD induced by immunoresponsiveness to progesterone.