RESEARCH ARTICLE
A Case of Pemphigus Vulgaris with Serum Autoantibodies Binding Blood Cell Antigen(s) on Immunofluorescence: A Case Report
Alessandro Lanza1, 2, Felice Femiano1, 2, Giovanni Maria Gaeta1, Rossella Santoro2, Fernando Gombos1, 2, Nicola Cirillo*, 1, 2, 3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2007Volume: 1
First Page: 10
Last Page: 11
Publisher ID: TODJ-1-10
DOI: 10.2174/1874372200701010010
Article History:
Received Date: 20/11/2007Revision Received Date: 23/11/2007
Acceptance Date: 3/12/2007
Electronic publication date: 13/10/2007
Collection year: 2007
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) may develop autoimmunity against an array of non-desmoglein antigens, including keratinocyte acetylcholine receptors. The latter, along with yet unknown autoantigens, could participate to PV pathogenesis. Here, we report a case of PV developing autoimmunity against peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) antigens. The patient was poorly responsive to steroidal and immunosuppressive drugs. Although the role for this PBMC antigen has not been established, it could affect the behaviour of immune cells that regulate autoantibody production in PV. Deregulation of PBMC activity may therefore influence patient’s response to pharmacological therapy.