AUTOIMMUNE BULLOUS DERMATOSES PROFILE IgG

BULLOUS AUTOIMMUNE DERMATOSES BELONG TO THE ORGAN-SPECIFIC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. THEY ARE CHARACTERISED BY THE FORMATION OF AUTOANTIBODIES AGAINST STRUCTURAL PROTEINS OF THE SKIN. THESE STRUCTURAL PROTEINS ESTABLISH THE CELL-TO-CELL CONTACT IN KERATINOCYTES WITHIN THE EPIDERMIS AND THE ADHESION OF THE EPIDERMIS TO THE DERMIS. BULLOUS AUTOIMMUNE DERMATOSES ARE DIVIDED INTO FOUR MAIN GROUPS BASED ON THEIR TARGET ANTIGENS AND THE LOCALISATION OF THE BLISTERS: PEMPHIGOID DISEASES, PEMPHIGUS DISEASES, INCLUDING PARANEOPLASTIC PEMPHIGUS, EPIDERMOLYSIS BULLOSA ACQUISITA (EBA) AND DERMATITIS HERPETIFORMIS (DH). IN PEMPHIGUS DISEASES THE BLISTERS ARE FORMED INTRA-EPIDERMALLY, WHEREAS IN PEMPHIGOID DISEASES, EBA AND DH THEY OCCUR SUB-EPIDERMALLY.