RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEORETICAL MOLECULAR-WEIGHT AND BLISTER FLUID SERUM RATIO OF CYTOKINES AND 5 OTHER MOLECULES EVALUATED IN PATIENTS WITH BULLOUS PEMPHIGOID/

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) blisters contain several molecules, some of wh ich spread into the blisters from the interstitial fluid while others are produced locally and migrate into the circulation. The calculation of the ratios between blister/serum concentrations may kelp to distin guish between these two types of molecules. The rules regulating the d iffusion of the molecules have been described only in suction blisters , where the theoretical molecular weight (MW) represents one of the pr incipal influencing factors.. The aim of the present study was to anal yse the relationship between theoretical MWs and the ratios of concent rations of several molecules evaluated bath in sera and in blister flu ids. Eight cytokines (interleukin-2, interleukin-3, interleukin-4, int erleukin-5, interleukin-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, oncostatin-M and vascular endothelial growth factor), two acute phase reactants (al pha-1 acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin), albumin, one soluble membrane m olecule with adhesion functions (sICAM-1) and the eosinophil cathionic protein (ECP) weve measured in samples from 15 patients affected with BP by means of commercially available tests. The data suggest that th e MW may influence the rate of diffusion throughout the blister, both in input and output directions, despite the discontinuites observed at the basement membrane level on the BP blister floor.