Antibodies to desmoplakin in a patient with pemphigus foliaceous

BACKGROUND: Antibodies to desmoplakins have been associated with paraneoplastic pemphigus. Here, we report a case of non-neoplastic pemphigus foliaceous with antibodies to desmoplakins. OBSERVATION: A 61-year-old woman with pemphigus foliaceous by clinical, histological and immunofluorescent criteria was found to have circulating antibodies to 250 and 215 kDa antigens identified as desmoplakin I and II by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. The patient had no evidence of cancer during a follow-up period of 3 years. CONCLUSION: Although antibodies to desmoplakin I and II have previously been associated with paraneoplastic pemphigus, their occasional finding in erythema multiforme and bullous pemphigoid indicates that they can also occur in non-neoplastic pemphigus.