Basement Zone Antibodies in Bullous Pemphigoid

Indirect immunofluorescent (IF) staining revealed that in 14 of 16 patients with active lesions of bullous pemphigoid the sera contained antibodies specific for the basement zone beneath stratified squamous epithelium while the sera from six patients in remission contained no demonstrable antibodies. The sera of 18 patients with dermatitis herpetiformis and 94 patients with various bullous and nonbullous dermatoses yielded negative reactions to the basement zone by indirect IF staining. In four of five skin biopsy specimens from patients with bullous pemphigoid direct IF staining indicated that γ-globulin had been bound in vivo to the basement zone.