Dermal dendritic cell number correlates with serum autoantibody titers in Brazilian pemphigus foliaceus patients

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is an autoimmune bullous disease endemic in Brazil. Since serum IL-12 is increased in patients with PF and Langerhans cells (LC) produce IL-12, we titrated serum autoantibodies by indirect immunofluorescence, and quantified epidermal dendritic cells, known as LC, and dermal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brazilian journal of medical and biological research 2004-03, Vol.37 (3), p.337-341
Main Authors: Chiossi, M P V, Costa, R S, Roselino, A M F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-CD1a
Autoantibodies - blood
BIOLOGY
Biopsy
Case-Control Studies
Cell Count
Dendritic Cells
Female
Fogo selvagem
Humans
Interleukin-12 - blood
Langerhans Cells
Male
MEDICINE, RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTAL
Pemphigus - immunology
Pemphigus - pathology
Pemphigus foliaceus
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is an autoimmune bullous disease endemic in Brazil. Since serum IL-12 is increased in patients with PF and Langerhans cells (LC) produce IL-12, we titrated serum autoantibodies by indirect immunofluorescence, and quantified epidermal dendritic cells, known as LC, and dermal dendritic cells (DC). Biopsies of blistering lesions were obtained from 22 patients, 13 of whom were submitted to biopsy of both injured and of apparently healthy skin. The control groups consisted of skin from 8 cadavers and from 12 women submitted to breast plastic surgery. LC and DC were identified with anti-CD1a antibody and quantified by morphometric analysis. LC number in the lesion and in apparently healthy skin from PF patients was similar to that of both control groups. DC number in the injured skin (median=0.94 DC/mm basement membrane) was higher than that of the cadaver group (median=0.13 DC/mm basement membrane). In the 13 patients with biopsies of both injured and apparently healthy skin, LC and DC were present in larger numbers in the lesion. There was a direct correlation between DC number in the lesion of the PF group and serum autoantibody titers. This correlation was not observed for LC number. The increased number of DC in the lesion, as well as its direct correlation with serum autoantibody titers suggest the participation of DC in the pathogenesis of PF. The relationship between increased DC number and IL-12 in PF needs to be clarified.
ISSN:0100-879X
1414-431X
0100-879X
0034-7310
DOI:10.1590/S0100-879X2004000300008