BACKGROUND The physiological function of the ubiquitous cellular prion protein, PrP(c), is still under debate. It was essentially studied in nervous system, but poorly investigated in epithelial cells. We previously reported that PrP(c) is targeted to cell-cell junctions of polarized epithelial cells, where it interacts with c-Src. METHODOLOGY/FINDINGS We show here that, in cultured human ent...

Desmosomes are adhesion plaques that mediate cell-cell adhesion in many tissues, including the epidermis, and generate mechanical resistance to tissues. The extracellular domains of desmosomal cadherin proteins, desmogleins and desmocollins, are required for the interaction with cadherins of the neighbouring cells, whereas their cytoplasmic tails associate with cytoplasmic proteins which mediat...

Background We previously described a new variant of endemic pemphigus foliaceus in El Bagre, Colombia, South America (El Bagre-EPF, or pemphigus Abreu-Manu). El Bagre-EPF differs from other types of EPF clinically, epidemiologically, immunologically and in its target antigens. We reported the presence of patient autoantibodies colocalizing with armadillo repeat gene deleted in velo-cardio-facia...

A 45-year-old otherwise healthy Japanese woman had suffered from multiple ulcers on her oral mucosa and blistering erythema on her hands for 2 years. She denied taking any medicines or dietary supplements. Oral mucosal and cutaneous examination showed sharply defined ulcers and erosions of her oral mucosa, and multiple sharply defined round bullous erythemas on her hands (Fig. 1a,b). The result...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the reactivity of indirect immunofluorescence using rat bladder epithelium as a substrate in patients with pemphigus foliaceus and pemphigus vulgaris from the Department of Dermatology, University of São Paulo Medical School, Brazil. METHODS Thirty-two patients (8 male and 24 female) from the Department of Dermatology, University of São Paulo Medical School, were select...

Activation of caspases results in the disruption of structural and signaling networks in apoptotic cells. Recent biochemical and cell biological studies have shown that components of the cadherin-catenin adhesion complex in epithelial adherens junctions are targeted by caspases during apoptosis. In epithelial cells, desmosomes represent a second type of anchoring junctions mediating strong cell...

Patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) harbor antibodies reactive against self-antigens expressed at the surface of keratinocytes, primarily desmoglein (Dsg) 3 and, to a lesser extent, Dsg1. Conventionally, only antibodies targeting these molecules have been thought to contribute to disease pathogenesis. This notion has been challenged by a growing pool of evidence that suggests that antibodies ...

To cite: Saraya T, Fujiwara M, Shimura C, et al. BMJ Case Rep Published online: [please include Day Month Year] doi:10.1136/bcr-2015210433 DESCRIPTION A 54-year-old man with thymoma (figure 1A, arrow) diagnosed 8 months previously was referred to our hospital because of a 5-month history of painful oral ulcer and odynophagia. Physical examination showed erosion of the lips, pharynx, tongue and ...

IMPORTANCE Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a disease that features blistering of the skin and mucous membranes caused by autoantibodies directed against desmoglein 3 (Dsg3) and/or desmoglein 1(Dsg1). Indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) are 2 methods that are widely used to measure Dsg3 orDsg1 antibody titers in PV. Although the titers of these autoantibodi...

Spermiation, the process by which late spermatids separate from the Sertoli cell, is disrupted by a number of toxicants. In this study, we used immunohistochemistry (IHC) to identify some of the proteins associated with the spermatid-Sertoli junction. We confirmed the presence of tubulin, actin, and vinculin at the luminal edge of the seminiferous tubule, and we determined that paxillin is also...