Abstract
Interference with either keratinocyte-keratinocyte adhesion or epidermal basement membrane zone develops skin lesions in autoimmune bullous skin diseases by autoimmune mechanisms. The most important machinery for the cell-cell adhesion and dermo-epidermal adhesion is the desmosome and hemidesmosome, respectively.
Recent studies using cDNAs for the constituent proteins of the desmosome and hemidesmosome have revealed that these proteins are actually the autoantigens in various autoimmune skin diseases. In addition, several new disease entities with distinct clinical and immunological features have recently been proposed. Characterization of the autoantigens is also important for the diagnosis of these diseases. Further studies using the biochemical and molecular biological techniques should provide us with more information about the pathogesis and develop various novel methods in both diagnostic and therapeutic standpoints in this group of disease.
