The blistering skin diseases pemphigus and pemphigoid can be considered paradigms of antibody-mediated, organ-specific autoimmune diseases. These diseases not only demonstrate mechanisms whereby autoantibodies can mediate tissue dam- age, but are also examples ofhow autoantibodies from patients can be used as tools to further our understanding ofthe molec- ular structure of normal tissue. In this Perspectives article, I will briefly describe the clinical, histologic, and immunopatho- logic features of these diseases. I will then discuss in more detail the newer data regarding the pathophysiology of these diseases, as well as the molecules defined by the autoantibodies from these patients.
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John R. Stanley (1989) studied this question.