Korean J Dermatol.  2000 Apr;38(4):457-461.

The Presence and Frequency of Autoantibodies against Epidermal Antigens in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

• Kim HJ
• Yoo DH
• Lee CW

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Autoantibodies of heterogeneous specificities can be found in patients with SLE.
OBJECTIVE
We planned to examine the presence and frequency of anti-epidermal protein autoantibodies among patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patients: Thirty consecutive patients of SLE seen at the rheumatology section with no blistering lesions, who showed positive serological findings for anti-dsDNA antibody and high titers of antinuclear antibodies, were enrolled in this study.
METHODS
Indirect immunofluorescence study with normal human skin substrates and immunoblot assay using antigens obtained from A431 cell-extracts were performed with SLE sera.
RESULTS
Among the 30 patients of SLE, 2 had IgG autoantibodies that bound along the basement membrane zone of the skin in IIF. In the immunoblot assay, IgG bands reacting to 230kD and/or 180kD antigens were observed in 3 cases among the 30 SLE sera; additional IgA band reactivities against 230kD and 180kD were also seen in one of the above 3. Besides these autoantibodies, they had no other autoantibodies reacting to epidermal antigens.
CONCLUSION
In this study, the frequency of serum autoantibodies to the epidermal proteins (bullous pemphigoid antigens and so on) among the patients with non-bullous SLE was estimated to be 10%-positivity. This result suggests that some patients with SLE may have autoantibodies to the epidermal basement membrane zone antigens with no pathogenecity. However, possible clinical significances should further be clarified.

Keyword

Sytemic lupus erythematosus; Autoantibodies to epidermal proteins

MeSH Terms

Antibodies, Antinuclear
Autoantibodies*
Basement Membrane
Blister
Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect
Humans
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulin G
Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic*
Pemphigoid, Bullous
Rheumatology
Skin
Antibodies, Antinuclear
Autoantibodies
Immunoglobulin A
Immunoglobulin G