Nanobacteria and calcinosis cutis.

Abstract

The nanobacteria are a recently characterized group of extremely small bacteria capable of precipitating calcium salts implicated in the pathogenesis of urinary calculi and calcific atherosclerosis. The pathogenesis of calcinosis cutis and its significance in conjunction with a variety of unrelated scarring and pre-existing cutaneous entities are incompletely understood. A series of cases, including basal cell carcinoma with dystrophic calcification, subepidermal calcified nodule, pilomatricoma, and tumoral calcinosis, were ultrastructurally examined for the presence of Nanobacteria sp. All cases, including three basal cell carcinomas, two subepidermal calcified nodules, three cases of pilomatricoma, and two cases of tumoral calcinosis, were negative for Nanobacteria. The dystrophic calcification that occurs in conjunction with the above entities does not likely involve a bacterial-induced etiology. The cause of these entities remains unknown.