title: Diagnosis of oral mucous membrane pemphigoid by means of combined serologic testing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a rare autoimmune bullous disease caused by various autoantibodies. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of MMP-specific autoantibodies in patient sera.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed sera from 30 MMP-suspected patients with intractable oral mucosal lesions using a combination of indirect immunofluorescence with 1M NaCl-split skin, immunoblot analysis, and ELISAs. We also analyzed clinical features among different types of MMP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventeen, 4, and 3 patients were diagnosed with anti-BP180-type MMP, anti-laminin-332-type MMP, and combined anti-BP180/anti-laminin-332-type MMP, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicated that a combination of immunologic testing for circulating autoantibodies is useful for the diagnosis of MMP.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Researcher, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan; Postgraduate Student, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Taihei
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Minao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furumura
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukano
authors.affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Xiaoguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Norito
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.affiliation: Senior Lecturer, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamada
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Chika
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ohata
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Dermatology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tsuruta
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Aichi-Gakuin University School of Dentistry, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimozato
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Dermatology, Kurume University School of Medicine, and Kurume University Institute of Cutaneous Cell Biology, Kurume, Japan. Electronic address: hashimot@med.kurume-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D010390:Pemphigoid, Benign Mucous Membrane / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D012698:Serologic Tests / Q000379:methods*