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Successful treatment of paraneoplastic pemphigus in follicular NHL with rituximab: report of a case and review of treatment for paraneoplastic pemphigus in NHL and CLL.

Paraneoplastic pemphigus is a severe mucocutaneous disease associated in most cases with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. Independent of the course of the underlying malignancy, this autoimmune skin disease is resistant to any treatment in most cases and may lead to death by infectious complications. We observed a patient with recovery of paraneoplastic pemphigus associated with follicular non-Hodgkin's-lymphoma after therapy with rituximab. In addition, we reviewed the literature and analyzed the few cases with comparable outcome with other treatment modalities.

Aged↗

Distinguishing the antigen specificities of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus using the biotin-avidin immunofluorescence method.

To compare the specificities of autoantibodies in sera from patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and those with pemphigus foliaceus (PF), blocking-immunofluorescence studies were carried out using the biotin-avidin immunofluorescence technique. First cryostat sections of bovine muzzle epidermis were incubated with one of either the unlabeled PV or PF serum samples for 2 h at room temperature, then rinsed and overlayered for 30 min with serially diluted corresponding or other biotin-labeled PV (or PF) IgG fractions containing their autoantibodies. The sections were then incubated for 30 min in fluorescein-labeled avidin. The blocking abilities of PV (or PF) sera for the reaction of labeled PV (or PF) IgG on the membranous part of keratinocytes were compared. The following results were obtained: the titers of biotin-labeled PF IgG decreased considerably more in sections preincubated with PF sera than sections preincubated with PV or normal sera. The titers of biotin-labeled PV IgG decreased considerably more in sections preincubated with PV sera than sections preincubated with PF or normal sera. These results suggest that there may be a distinction in antigenic specificities between PV and PF sera.

Autoantibodies↗

[Adjuvant therapy of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus with intravenous immunoglobulins].

High dose intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIG) have been shown to be effective in different autoimmune diseases. We report on the use of IVIG in patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) or pemphigus foliaceus (PF) resistant to conventional therapy. Six patients who presented with a relapse of their disease following conventional immunosuppressive treatment with prednisolone and azathioprine were additionally treated with 2 g/kg of IVIG every four weeks. Six to nine cycles of this therapy were given to each patient. All patients showed healing of their blisters without evidence of relapse even when steroids and immunosuppressants were tapered. None of the patients relapsed within one year of follow-up, although IVIG treatment was discontinued. Side effects of IVIG treatment were moderate with only slight evidence of headaches. We suggest that adjuvant treatment of PV and PF resistant to conventional immunosuppressive strategies is a useful addition to our therapeutic arsenal in both diseases.

Autoantibodies↗

Development of pemphigus vulgaris in a patient with pemphigus foliaceus: antidesmoglein antibody profile shift confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

We describe a patient with pemphigus foliaceus (PF) in whom pemphigus vulgaris (PV) subsequently developed. The clinical change was accompanied by a shift of autoantibody profile confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Antidesmoglein (Dsg) 1 antibodies alone were detected in the PF stage, whereas both anti-Dsg3 and anti-Dsg1 antibodies were detected in the PV stage.

Adult↗

Paraneoplastic pemphigus with a pemphigus vegetans-like plaque as the only cutaneous manifestation.

Paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) is a recently recognized autoimmune mucocutaneous disease associated with a few unusual lymphoreticular neoplasms. Intractable stomatitis is the most constant clinical feature but the cutaneous presentations are characteristically variable. We describe a patient with PNP associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who presented with severe oral, laryngeal, and pharyngeal involvement. The only cutaneous finding was a pemphigus vegetans-like plaque, a previously undescribed manifestation. The plaque evolved from a flaccid blister that formed at a prior intravenous catheter site. The mucosal biopsy specimen demonstrated faint intercellular staining with IgG, whereas results for the cutaneous plaque were negative. Indirect immunofluorescence testing was positive on both monkey esophagus and rat bladder epithelium. Immunoprecipitation (IP) studies demonstrated a complex of 4 proteins with molecular weights of 250, 230, 210, and 190 kd, confirming the diagnosis of PNP.

Autoimmune Diseases↗

Neonatal pemphigus vulgaris with extensive mucocutaneous lesions from a mother with oral pemphigus vulgaris.

The clinical phenotype of pemphigus is well explained by the combination of desmoglein (Dsg) 1 and Dsg3 distribution pattern and antiDsg autoantibody profile (Dsg compensation theory). It has been reported that neonatal skin has a similar Dsg distribution pattern to adult mucosal epithelia. We describe a newborn girl with mucocutaneous pemphigus vulgaris (PV) from a mother with mucosal dominant PV. The mother had had painful oral erosions for at least 7 months. Histopathological examination and direct and indirect immunofluorescence studies confirmed the diagnosis of PV and neonatal PV in the mother and daughter, respectively. The mother had a high titre of anti-Dsg3 IgG and a low titre of antiDsg1 IgG, while the neonate had only a high titre of anti-Dsg3 IgG, but no detectable antiDsg1 IgG. AntiDsg3 IgG, which caused the oral dominant phenotype in the mother, induced extensive oral as well as cutaneous lesions in the neonate. Our case provides clinical evidence for the Dsg compensation theory in neonatal PV.

Adult↗

Diagnosis of pemphigus by ELISA: a critical evaluation of two ELISAs for the detection of antibodies to the major pemphigus antigens, desmoglein 1 and 3.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF) are characterized by autoantibodies to the desmosomal glycoproteins desmoglein 3 (Dsg 3) and Dsg 1 (Dsg 1), respectively. In this study, two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) which detect IgG autoantibodies to Dsg 1 and Dsg 3 have been evaluated. A total of 317 normal and disease controls, 82 patients with PV and 25 with PF were studied. The Dsg 3 ELISA was positive in all 34 patients with untreated PV and the Dsg 1 ELISA was positive in all 10 with untreated PF. When patients undergoing treatment were included, the sensitivities fell to 95% and 92%, respectively, but still compared favourably to the sensitivity of indirect immunofluorescence which was 79% in PV and 84% in PF. All PF sera were negative in the Dsg 3 ELISA and the specificity of both assays was 98% or greater. Large numbers of samples could be analysed simultaneously over a relatively short time period. The Dsg 1 and Dsg 3 ELISAs also provided objective, quantitative, reproducible data which allowed differentiation of PV from PF and in view of these advantages, they are likely to become a routine technique in diagnostic laboratories.

Adolescent↗

Targeted disruption of the pemphigus vulgaris antigen (desmoglein 3) gene in mice causes loss of keratinocyte cell adhesion with a phenotype similar to pemphigus vulgaris.

In patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV), autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3) cause loss of cell-cell adhesion of keratinocytes in the basal and immediate suprabasal layers of stratified squamous epithelia. The pathology, at least partially, may depend on protease release from keratinocytes, but might also result from antibodies interfering with an adhesion function of Dsg3. However, a direct role of desmogleins in cell adhesion has not been shown. To test whether Dsg3 mediates adhesion, we genetically engineered mice with a targeted disruption of the DSG3 gene. DSG3 -/- mice had no DSG3 mRNA by RNase protection assay and no Dsg3 protein by immunofluorescence (IF) and immunoblots. These mice were normal at birth, but by 8-10 d weighed less than DSG3 +/- or +/+ littermates, and at around day 18 were grossly runted. We speculated that oral lesions (typical in PV patients) might be inhibiting food intake, causing this runting. Indeed, oropharyngeal biopsies showed erosions with histology typical of PV, including suprabasilar acantholysis and "tombstoning" of basal cells. EM showed separation of desmosomes. Traumatized skin also had crusting and suprabasilar acantholysis. Runted mice showed hair loss at weaning. The runting and hair loss phenotype of DSG3 -/- mice is identical to that of a previously reported mouse mutant, balding (bal). Breeding indicated that bal is coallelic with the targeted mutation. We also showed that bal mice lack Dsg3 by IF, have typical PV oral lesions, and have a DSG3 gene mutation. These results demonstrate the critical importance of Dsg3 for adhesion in deep stratified squamous epithelia and suggest that pemphigus autoantibodies might interfere directly with such a function.

Animals↗

Organ culture studies of pemphigus antibodies. II. Ultrastructural comparison between acantholytic changes in vitro and human pemphigus lesions.

The ultrastructural and light microscopic features of acantholysis produced in organ culture were compared with those of human pemphigus lesions. In both, an intraepidermal split was seen an typical suprabasal acantholytic cells were present. These cells contained small bundles of tonofilaments, usually located away from the cell periphery. Desmonsomal plaques with inserted tonofilaments frequently remained along the periphery of acantholytic cells and along the upper portion of the periphery of basal cells. The ultrastructural similarity between in vitro and in vivo lesions provides additional evidence to suggest that organ cultures may provide a valid model for studying the dynamics of pemphigus lesion formation.

Aged↗

Antigenic specificity of fogo selvagem autoantibodies is similar to North American pemphigus foliaceus and distinct from pemphigus vulgaris autoantibodies.

Fogo selvagem (FS) is clinically, histologically, and immunopathologically similar to sporadic pemphigus foliaceus (PF, as seen in North America and Europe), although the epidemiology of these 2 diseases differs markedly. It has been proposed that FS is identical to PF but, for some reason, occurs in an endemic focus in central Brazil. If this hypothesis is correct, the autoantibodies in FS and PF should have similar antigenic specificities. We studied sera from 13 patients with FS from central Brazil, and compared them with 20 sera from patients with PF from the United States. All these sera had circulating antibodies that bound the cell surface of epithelial cells in identical patterns by indirect immunofluorescence on monkey esophagus or normal human skin. In immunoprecipitation studies none of the 13 FS sera precipitated the pemphigus vulgaris (PV) antigen from radiolabeled extracts of cultured human keratinocytes. This is similar to the findings with PF sera of which 19 of 20 sera did not react with PV antigen, but in sharp contrast to the results with PV sera which, as previously reported, all immunoprecipitate the PV antigen. Immunoblotting performed on extracts of normal human epidermis demonstrated that 7 of 20 PF sera specifically and intensely bound an approximately 160 kD polypeptide, previously identified as desmoglein I, a desmosomal glycoprotein. Similarly, 3 of 13 FS sera specifically bound a 160 kD polypeptide. Thirteen normal sera from North America, 8 normal and disease control sera from central Brazil, 11 PV sera, and 12 bullous pemphigoid sera did not specifically bind this polypeptide. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis confirmed that the 160 kD polypeptides identified by the subgroup of PF and FS sera were identical. These studies demonstrate that, although the exact molecular specificities of the majority of PF and FS sera remain to be determined, FS autoantibodies do not bind the PV antigen and a subgroup of FS autoantibodies have molecular specificity identical to that of a subgroup of PF autoantibodies.

Antibody Specificity↗

Detection of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus antigens by immunoblot analysis using different antigen sources.

In an immunoblot analysis with human epidermal extract as a source of antigens, all (28/28) pemphigus vulgaris (Pv) sera showed a specific reactivity with a 130-kD protein. Several, but not all, Pv sera reacted with similar antigens in both a bovine muzzle desmosome preparation and extract of cultured human squamous carcinoma cells. On the other hand, some pemphigus foliaceus (Pf) sera exhibited reactivity with a 150-kD protein, which is most likely desmoglein I, in both the human epidermal extract and the bovine desmosome preparation, but no Pf serum reacted with this antigen in the squamous carcinoma cell extract. Furthermore, 4/16 Pv sera also reacted with a 150-kD protein in the desmosome preparation, which seemed to be the same as Pf antigen. These results show a relationship between antigens of both Pf and Pv and desmosomes, as well as heterogeneities of both Pv and Pf antigens in terms of antigenic molecules or epitopes. Furthermore, this study presents the possibility that immunoblot analysis can be routinely used for differentiation of Pv and Pf antibodies.

Antigens↗

Ultrastructural localization of pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus antigens in cultured human squamous carcinoma cells.

The ultrastructural localization of the pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF) antigens in cultured human squamous carcinoma cells was observed using immunogold electron microscopy. Both the PV and PF autoantibodies bound only to the extracellular portion of the desmosomal structures. After incubation at 37 degrees C, the PV antigen-antibody complexes were observed within the cultured cells. PV and PF antigen expression was markedly reduced when the cells were cultured in medium with a low Ca2+ concentration.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗

Herpetiform pemphigus, a variable pattern of pemphigus.

A patient with the clinical features of dermatitis herpetiformis and the histological features of pemphigus, subcorneal dermatosis and dermatitis herpetiformis did not respond to treatment with pyridine or sulfones. Systemic steroids and azothioprine were effective. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated circulating pemphigus antibodies and IgG bound in vivo in the intercellular spaces of the epidermis.

Abscess↗

Paraneoplastic pemphigus secondary to fludarabine evolving into unusual oral pemphigus vegetans.

We report a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who developed paraneoplastic pemphigus (PNP) soon after the initiation of fludarabine therapy. He presented with severe oral and cutaneous erosions. Initially, he had high titres of circulating autoantibodies as detected by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) on multiple epithelial substrates (normal human skin, monkey oesophagus, and rat bladder) and by desmoglein 1 and 3 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). His oral erosions have subsequently progressed into unusual hyperplastic papillomatous lesions affecting the inner aspect of lips and buccal mucosae, histologically consistent with pemphigus vegetans. Desmoglein 1 antibodies and IF on rat bladder substrate have become negative after 18 months of therapy. Several agents had been initiated to bring the disease under control originally, but a partial remission was achieved and maintained with mycophenolate mofetil and low-dose prednisolone.

Aged↗

Atypical IgA/IgG pemphigus involving the skin, oral mucosa, and colon in a child: a novel variant of IgA pemphigus?

Immune-mediated blistering diseases are rare in childhood, with the subset of IgA pemphigus being extremely uncommon. A child with a bullous disorder of the oral mucosa, skin, and colon is reported because of the unusual nature of the clinical and laboratory findings. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated both intercellular epidermal and basement membrane zone deposition of IgA and IgG antibodies, as well as intercellular colonic deposition of IgA antibodies. IgA and IgG ELISA tests were positive for desmoglein 3 as the intercellular epidermal antigen. The generation of multiple antibodies against several potential antigenic targets suggests epitope spreading may play a role in this disease. We believe this represents a novel variant of IgA pemphigus.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents↗

A Case of pemphigus foliaceus which occurred after five years of remission from pemphigus vulgaris.

A 77-year-old Japanese female developed pemphigus foliaceus (PF) after 5 years of remission from pemphigus vulgaris (PV). The patient had painful erosions in her mouth and flaccid blisters of the skin and was diagnosed as having PV, which responded well to corticosteroid treatment. She was then free from any lesion of PV for 5 years with a low dose of corticosteroid. Then she developed scaly erythematous lesions on the skin and was diagnosed as suffering from PF. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using recombinant desmoglein 1 (Dsg-1) and Dsg-3 revealed that she had anti-Dsg-3 IgG in the PV stage, no antibodies during remission and anti-Dsg-1 IgG in the PF stage. These findings indicate that the target antigen was shifted from Dsg-3 to Dsg-1 along with the phenotype after a 5-year interval in this patient.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗