Lymphokines (MIF) in the serum of patients with sarcoidosis and cutaneous granuloma annulare.

Serum MIF activity was studied in ten patients with sarcoidosis, fourteen with granuloma annulare, four with necrobiosis lipoidica, and nine with various dermatological diseases. Positive MIF activity was found in the sera of nine of the ten patients with sarcoidosis and eleven of the fourteen patients with granuloma annulare. The delayed hypersensitivity tests were negative in all nine of the patients with sarcoidosis who had serum MIF activity and were positive in only three patients with cutaneous sarcoid lesions. One of four patients with necrobiosis lipoidica demonstrated minimal serum MIF activity. Data on serum lymphokine activity in sarcoidosis and granuloma annulare suggest that these two diseases are related to delayed hypersensitivity mechanisms.