Substance P and vasoactive intestinal peptide in bullous and inflammatory skin disease.

Immunoreactivity (IR) of substance P (SP) and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) were determined by radioimmunoassay in serum of 56 patients with inflammatory skin diseases, in blister fluid of 40 patients with spontaneous blisters and 31 subjects with induced skin blisters. Serum concentrations of SP-IR and VIP-IR were mostly low or non-detectable. Spontaneous blisters contained high amounts of SP-IR, particularly in bullous pemphigoid and in some inflammatory dermatoses, while VIP-IR levels usually were low. Suction blisters from inflamed but not from normal skin often contained SP-IR but more seldom VIP-IR.