MECHANISMS OF ACANTHOLYSIS IN PEMPHIGUS FOLIACEUS

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is a dermatosis characterized by subcorneal v esicles and pathogenic IgG autoantibodies against desmoglein 1, PF IgG passively transferred into neonatal mice induces a blistering disease that duplicates the key findings of PF. In this study we have used th is animal model to investigate the role of complement and IgG; valence in triggering blister formation. In the passive transfer experiments, we found that PF IgG, as well as the F(ab')(2) and Fab fragments, was capable of inducing the typical subcorneal blistering disease in both complement-deficient and complement-sufficient mice. Morever, the dis ease activity in these mice correlated well with the dose of IgG or it s proteolytic fragments injected in the animals. We conclude that neit her complement activation nor IgG-mediated cell surface antigen crossl inking is required for the induction of acantholysis in the experiment al PF model. (C) 1997 Academic Press.