Pemphigus is a chronic mucocutaneous autoimmune bullous disease that is characterized by loss of cell-cell contact in skin and/or mucous membranes. Past research has successfully identified desmosomes as immunological targets and has demonstrated that acantholysis is initiated through direct binding of IgG. The exact mechanisms of acantholysis, however, are still missing. Experimental model sys...

The autoimmune blistering skin disease pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is caused primarily by autoantibodies against desmosomal cadherins. It was reported that apoptosis can be detected in pemphigus skin lesions and that apoptosis can be induced by PV-IgG in cultured keratinocytes. However, the role of apoptosis in PV pathogenesis is unclear at present. In this study, we provide evidence that apoptosis...

Keratosis follicularis or Darier's disease (DD), a rare autosomal dominant disorder is characterised clinically by appearance of multiple, prurutic, discrete, scaly papules affecting seborrheic areas coupled with palmar pits, nail changes and mucosal involvement. Histologicaly the lesions show suprabasal clefts with acantholytic and dyskeratotic cells. We report a case of 35 years old woman wit...

Darier disease (DD) is an autosomal-dominant skin disorder that is characterized by multiple keratotic papules, loss of epithelial adhesion, and abnormal keratinization. We describe an unusual case of late-onset unilateral segmental DD that follows the lines of Blaschko. Our patient did not exhibit other classic findings of DD. Our case and review of the literature suggest that lesions previous...

Pemphigus is a rare and debilitating autoimmune blistering disease due to keratinocyte cell-cell detachment (acantholysis). Treatments focus on immune suppression but are often associated with severe side effects, slow onset of action frequent clinical relapses; therefore, innovative non-immunosuppressive therapies needed provide rapid, safer long-lasting responses. Patients’ autoantibodies (PV...

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) represents an autoimmune blistering disease characterized by the disruption of epidermal intercellular adhesion proteins. Clinical findings include superficial crusted erosions in a seborrheic distribution; however, the disease can rarely present as an exfoliative erythroderma. Histopathologic findings include acantholysis with cleavage within the granular layer. Direct...

This article describes 31 examples of acantholytic acanthoma, a newly recognized, solitary, benign cutaneous tumor. Acantholytic acanthoma was typically an asymptomatic, keratotic papule or nodule. Patients ranged in age from 32 to 87 years (median 60 years); the ratio of men to women was 2:1; the most frequent clinical diagnosis was keratosis; and half of the growths were on the trunk of the b...