Plectin, an unusual target antigen in bullous pemphigoid.

Background Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a blistering disease associated with autoantibodies directed against two components of hemidesmosomes, BP180 and BP230. Objectives To assess whether BP patients have autoantibodies targeting plectin, another hemidesmosomal component showing extensive homology to BP230. Methods Examination of sera from 16 patients with BP, using immunoprecipitation studies followed by immunoblotting. Results Serum of one of the 16 (6%) patients with BP contain autoantibodies binding to plectin, while no reactivity was found with sera from three control subjects. Sera from all 16 BP patients immunoprecipitated BP230 from extracts of biosynthetically radiolabelled human keratinocytes. Conclusions Our results indicate that sera from BP patients might contain autoantibodies binding to plectin. Although this protein and BP230 are closely sequence-related, the occurrence of autoantibodies binding to plectin is a rare phenomenon in BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of British Journal of Dermatology is the property of Oxford University Press / USA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)