Antibodies to desmoplakin in a patient with pemphigus foliaceous.
BACKGROUND
Antibodies to desmoplakins have been associated with paraneoplastic pemphigus. Here, we report a case of non-neoplastic pemphigus foliaceous with antibodies to desmoplakins.


METHODS
A 61-year-old woman with pemphigus foliaceous by clinical, histological and immunofluorescent criteria was found to have circulating antibodies to 250 and 215 kDa antigens identified as desmoplakin I and II by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. The patient had no evidence of cancer during a follow-up period of 3 years.


CONCLUSIONS
Although antibodies to desmoplakin I and II have previously been associated with paraneoplastic pemphigus, their occasional finding in erythema multiforme and bullous pemphigoid indicates that they can also occur in non-neoplastic pemphigus.
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Ronald O. Perelman Department of Dermatology, New York University Medical Center, NY 10016, USA.
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D000906:Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D051180:Desmoplakins; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D012867:Skin / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
D000906:Antibodies; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C495294:DSP protein, human; D051180:Desmoplakins