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E Laffitte

Publications and source records attributed to E Laffitte.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

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.

Autoantibodies↗
PubMed2001

Autoantibodies to the extracellular and intracellular domain of bullous pemphigoid 180, the putative key autoantigen in bullous pemphigoid, belong predominantly to the IgG1 and IgG4 subclasses.

BACKGROUND: Autoantibodies to the extracellular domain (ECD) of bullous pemphigoid (BP) antigen 180 (BP180) are thought to play a crucial part in the pathophysiology of BP. OBJECTIVES: As the various IgG subclasses have different biological properties, we have sought to assess the relative isotype distribution of IgG to BP180 and their reactivity against the ECD and intracellular domain (ICD) of BP180. METHODS: The reactivity of 27 sera from patients with BP was assayed by immunoblotting against recombinant proteins covering the ECD and ICD of BP180. RESULTS: Twenty-seven (100%) and 21 (77%) of 27 BP sera, respectively, contained IgG1 and IgG4 autoantibodies binding to the ECD of BP180. Fourteen (82%) and six (35%) of the 17 BP sera that were reactive with the ICD of BP180 had autoantibodies of the IgG1 and IgG4 subclass, respectively. The profile of the isotype restriction appeared to be similar when the response to the ECD vs. that to the ICD was compared. IgG2 and IgG3 reactivity with BP180 was found less frequently. Patients with BP of longer duration showed a tendency to have, in addition to IgG1, an IgG4 response. CONCLUSIONS: Consistent with prior evidence indicating that subepidermal blister formation in BP is dependent upon complement activation, the frequent finding of complement-fixing IgG1 autoantibodies to both the ECD and ICD of BP180 might have pathogenic relevance in BP. These findings provide new insights relevant for our understanding of the immune response to BP180, the putative key autoantigen in BP.

Aged↗
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[Thalidomide].

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Dermatologic Agents↗