The use of biochip immunofluorescence microscopy for the diagnosis of Pemphigus vulgaris.
Pemphigus vulgaris is an autoimmune intraepithelial blistering skin disease characterized by the presence of circulating autoantibodies directed against surfaces of keratinocytes. Diagnosis is generally based on clinical features, histology, direct and indirect immunofluorescence and ELISA. This study describes a new BIOCHIP mosaic-based indirect immunofluorescence technique based on recombinant antigenic substrates and transfected cells. We investigated the diagnostic use of BIOCHIP for the serological diagnosis of Pemphigus vulgaris. Autoantibodies against desmoglein 3 were detected in 97.62% of patients (41/42) with P. vulgaris. There were no positive results in the negative control group. Our study revealed that BIOCHIP has high sensitivity and specificity comparable to that of the ELISA assays. Therefore the BIOCHIP technique seems to be an appropriate method for the diagnosis of P. vulgaris as it has been shown to be a simple, standardized and readily available novel tool, which could facilitate the diagnosis of this autoimmune bullous disease. We suggest that it could be used as an initial screening test to identify patients with P. vulgaris before using the ELISA approach.
Dermatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Via Battisti 206, 35121 Padua, Italy.
Irene
I
Russo
Dermatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Via Battisti 206, 35121 Padua, Italy.
Andrea
A
Saponeri
Dermatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Via Battisti 206, 35121 Padua, Italy.
Andrea
A
Peserico
Dermatology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Via Battisti 206, 35121 Padua, Italy. Electronic address: mauro.alaibac@unipd.it.
Mauro
M
Alaibac
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D051184:Desmoglein 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008875:Middle Aged; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000175:diagnosis*; D040081:Protein Array Analysis / Q000592:standards*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D051184:Desmoglein 3
BIOCHIP technology; Desmoglein 3; Immunofluorescence; Pemphigus vulgaris