Mosaic cutaneous

Author:Prof. Dr. med. Peter Altmeyer

All authors of this article

Last updated on: 13.04.2023

Dieser Artikel auf Deutsch

Synonym(s)

Cutane mosaics; cutaneous mosaicism; Mosaic dermatoses; Skin mosaics

Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please login to access all articles, images, and functions.

Our content is available exclusively to medical professionals. If you have already registered, please login. If you haven't, you can register for free (medical professionals only).


Requires free registration (medical professionals only)

Please complete your registration to access all articles and images.

To gain access, you must complete your registration. You either haven't confirmed your e-mail address or we still need proof that you are a member of the medical profession.

Finish your registration now

DefinitionThis section has been translated automatically.

In the biological sense, an organism composed of genetically diverse cells that have emerged from a homogeneous zygote is called a mosaic. In contrast, a chimera arises from different cell populations. Cutaneous mosaics can be divided into 2 categories:

  • Epigenetic mosaics: All cells have the same genome. Functionally different cell clones arise due to the influence of certain control genes. These functional mosaics are hereditary.
  • Genetic mosaics: Two or more cell populations have different genomes.

Acquired mosaic dermatoses: Some acquired skin diseases, usually diffusely distributed, may appear "suddenly" (in a phase of exacerbation) along Blaschko lines (in atopic eczema, psoriasis vulgaris, dyskeratosis follicularis, lichen planus, circumskripter scleroderma, and others). The cause is probably a mutated cell clone acting as a "locus minoris resistentiae" in which the underlying disease is realized.

Clinical pictureThis section has been translated automatically.

Mosaics are particularly easy to identify in the skin, as the different cell systems are often visibly morphologically distinct from each other. Very diverse mosaic patterns can be distinguished in the skin:

LiteratureThis section has been translated automatically.

  1. Happle R (2004) Cutaneous mosaics: patterns and molecular mechanisms. Dt Ärzteblatt 101: 1575-1580.
  2. Happle R (2016) The categories of cutaneous mosaicism: a proposed classification. Am J Med Genet A 170A: 452-459.
  3. Moog U et al (2020) Diseases caused by genetic mosaicism. Dtsch Ärztebl Int 117: 119-125.
  4. Peron A et al (2018) Genetics, genomics, and genotype-phenotype correlations of TSC: insights for clinical practice. Am J Med Genet C Semin Med Genet 178: 281-290.
  5. Rohlin A et al. (2009) Parallel sequencing used in detection of mosaic mutations: comparison with four diagnostic DNA screening techniques. Hum Mutat 30: 1012-1020

Authors

Last updated on: 13.04.2023