Abstract

BACKGROUND: Anti-p200 pemphigoid is a subepidermal autoimmune blistering disease (AIBD) characterized by autoantibodies against a 200 kDa protein. Laminin γ1 has been described as target antigen in 70% to 90% of patients. No diagnostic assay is widely available for anti-p200 pemphigoid, which might be due to the unclear pathogenic relevance of anti-laminin γ1 autoantibodies.

OBJECTIVE: To identify a target antigen with higher clinical and diagnostic relevance.

METHODS: Immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry, and immunoblotting were employed for analysis of skin extracts and sera of patients with anti-p200 pemphigoid (n = 60), other AIBD (n = 33), and healthy blood donors (n = 29). To localize the new antigen in skin, cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence microscopy were performed.

RESULTS: Laminin β4 was identified as target antigen of anti-p200 pemphigoid in all analyzed patients. It was located at the level of the basement membrane zone of the skin with predominant expression in keratinocytes.

LIMITATIONS: A higher number of sera needs to be tested to verify that laminin β4 is the diagnostically relevant antigen of anti-p200 pemphigoid.

CONCLUSION: The identification of laminin β4 as an additional target antigen in anti-p200 pemphigoid will allow its differentiation from other AIBD and as such, improve the management of these rare disorders.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Volume90
Issue number4
Pages (from-to)790-797
Number of pages8
ISSN0190-9622
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 04.2024

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