title: Pemphigoid gestationis in a female with progressive facial hemiatrophy: microchimerism as a speculative shared background is disputable.
abstract: The commonest source of naturally acquired microchimerism, i.e. small numbers of foreign cells within the organism, is two-way mother-fetus transplacental trafficking during pregnancy. Here, the first report on coexistence of pregnancy-associated pemphigoid gestationis (PG) and progressive facial hemiatrophy, a form of "en coup de sabre" morphea, is presented. HE histopathology (eosinophil-rich subepidermal infiltration, inverted teardrop sign), direct immunofluorescence (linear IgG1, but not IgG4, deposits along the dermal-epidermal junction) and ELISA (elevated levels of serum and blister fluid IgG autoantibodies to BP180) corroborated the PG diagnosis. Microchimerism as a speculative shared background of those two rare autoimmune diseases is disputable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Poznań University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
authors.forename: Paweł
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pietkiewicz
authors.forename: Justyna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gornowicz-Porowska
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bowszyc-Dmochowska
authors.forename: Marian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dmochowski
mesh_terms: D046528:Chimerism; D005150:Facial Hemiatrophy / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006559:Pemphigoid Gestationis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology