Antigen-specific B cell depletion for precision therapy of mucosal pemphigus vulgaris

MUCOSAL DISEASES SERIES Number II Pemphigus vulgaris

Pemphigus is a group of potentially life-threatening autoimmune diseases characterized by cutaneous and/or mucosal blistering. Pemphigus vulgaris (PV), the most common variant, is characterized by circulating IgG antibodies directed against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3), with about half the patients also having Dsg1 autoantibodies.There is a fairly strong genetic background to pemphigus with linkage to H...

ACTH Therapy in Pemphigus Vulgaris

Setting the target for pemphigus vulgaris therapy.

Despite the rising incidence of autoimmunity, therapeutic options for patients with autoimmune disease still rely on decades-old immunosuppressive strategies that risk severe and potentially fatal complications. Thus, novel therapeutic approaches for autoimmune diseases are greatly needed in order to minimize treatment-related toxicity. Such strategies would ideally target only the autoreactive...

Identification of pemphigus vulgaris antigen extracted from normal human epidermis and comparison with pemphigus foliaceus antigen.

Immunoprecipitations of cultured keratinocyte extracts have shown that pemphigus vulgaris (PV) sera bind a polypeptide of 210,000 mol wt with disulfide-linked chains of 130,000 and 85,000 mol wt. To identify proteins in normal human skin recognized by PV antibodies, we performed immunoprecipitations of normal human epidermal extracts. All 22 PV sera tested immunoprecipitated a complex of polype...

Rituximab therapy improves recalcitrant Pemphigus vulgaris

Pemphigus is a severe life-threatening blistering disease associated with autoantibodies against cell adhesion proteins desmogleins 1 and 3. Patients with severe pemphigus commonly show high rates of relapse after conventional immunosuppressive therapy. The newly developed drug Rituximab showed impressing promises in the treatment of refractory pemphigus vulgaris (PV). In the present study the ...