title: Identification of basement membrane zone antigens defined by antibodies that react to both the epidermal and dermal side of 1 M sodium chloride split skin.
abstract: Some individuals have basement membrane zone (BMZ) antibodies that react to both the epidermal and dermal side of skin split with 1 M NaCl. To examine the significance of this combined staining pattern, we tested sera from 185 different, sequential, patients with BMZ antibodies for reactivity to normal human skin split with 1 M NaCl. Six sera (3.2%) stained both the epidermal and dermal sides of split skin, 173 (93.5%) stained only the epidermal side, and 6 (3.2%) only the dermal side. All six sera with a combined staining pattern yielded the same pattern when tested with three different specimens of skin, indicating that this pattern is reproducible. By immunoblot analysis, five (83%) of the six combined staining sera reacted to a 160-kD antigen present only in epidermal extracts of normal skin, one reacted in addition to a 230-kD epidermal antigen, and one did not react to either epidermal or dermal extracts. In contrast, five (83%) of the six sera with dermal staining reacted to a 290-kD antigen present only in dermal extracts. Eighteen (90%) of twenty representative epidermal staining sera reacted to a 230-kD epidermal antigen and seven (35%) sera (five with the 230-kD antibody and two without) also reacted to the 160-kD epidermal antigen. Affinity purified antibody to the 160-kD antigen defined by combined staining sera reacted to the BMZ of normal human skin. These results indicate that the combined staining pattern on 1 M NaCl split skin is due to the presence of a distinctive antibody response directed predominantly to a 160-kD BMZ antigen located on the epidermal side of the split skin and to an as yet unidentified BMZ antigen located on the dermal side.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, New York University School of Medicine, New York.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niimi
authors.forename: Z X
authors.initials: ZX
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Bystryn
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology*; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000276:immunology; D000937:Antigen-Antibody Reactions; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000276:immunology; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004817:Epidermis / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D010391:Pemphigoid, Bullous / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000941:Antigens; D012965:Sodium Chloride