Laminin β4 is a constituent of the cutaneous basement membrane zone and additional autoantigen of anti-p200 pemphigoid

BACKGROUND: Anti-p200 pemphigoid is a subepidermal autoimmune blistering disease (AIBD) characterized by autoantibodies against a 200 kDa protein. Laminin γ1 has been described as target antigen in 70% to 90% of patients. No diagnostic assay is widely available for anti-p200 pemphigoid, which might be due to the unclear pathogenic relevance of anti-laminin γ1 autoantibodies. OBJECTIVE: To identify a target antigen with higher clinical and diagnostic relevance. METHODS: Immunoprecipitation, mass spectrometry, and immunoblotting were employed for analysis of skin extracts and sera of patients with anti-p200 pemphigoid (n = 60), other AIBD (n = 33), and healthy blood donors (n = 29). To localize the new antigen in skin, cultured keratinocytes and fibroblasts, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunofluorescence microscopy were performed. RESULTS: Laminin β4 was identified as target antigen of anti-p200 pemphigoid in all analyzed patients. It was located at the level of the basement membrane zone of the skin with predominant expression in keratinocytes. LIMITATIONS: A higher number of sera needs to be tested to verify that laminin β4 is the diagnostically relevant antigen of anti-p200 pemphigoid. CONCLUSION: The identification of laminin β4 as an additional target antigen in anti-p200 pemphigoid will allow its differentiation from other AIBD and as such, improve the management of these rare disorders.