Coexistence of pemphigus foliaceus and bullous pemphigoid. Demonstration of autoantibodies that bind to both the pemphigus foliaceus antigen complex and the bullous pemphigoid antigen
N. J. Korman, J. R. Stanley and D. T. Woodley
Dermatology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.
Pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid are autoimmune blistering diseases of the
skin characterized by circulating autoantibodies directed against the
keratinocyte cell surface and the epidermal basement membrane zone,
respectively. The coexistence of pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid is very
uncommon. We describe a patient with pemphigus foliaceus who later
developed bullous pemphigoid and show, by means of immunoprecipitation
studies utilizing both cultured keratinocytes and suction blister
epidermis, that our patient had circulating autoantibodies directed against
both the pemphigus foliaceus antigen complex and the bullous pemphigoid
antigen. This report is the first to demonstrate the coexistence of
pemphigus foliaceus and bullous pemphigoid at the molecular level.
