IgA antibasement membrane antibodies in a boy with pemphigoid

Abstract

To the Editor.— Since the detection of granular deposits of IgA in the tips of the dermal papillae of the uninvolved skin in dermatitis herpetiformis, 1 there has been and, still is, much controversy as to the interpretation of IgA deposits that, in immunofluorescence, exhibit a linear or continuous aspect along the epidermal basement membrane in patients with bullous diseases. Some investigators state that, in view of the characteristic occurrence of this particular immunoglobulin class in the skin of patients with dermatitis herpetiformis, these patients have to be classified accordingly, ie, under the heading dermatitis herpetiformis. 2-4 Others state that, with respect to the linear or continuous immunofluorescence along the epidermal basement membrane, which is a characteristic feature of pemphigoid, these patients have to be classified accordingly, ie, under the diagnosis pemphigoid. 5,6 Generally, it is thought that circulating autoantibodies to the basement membrane area of the epidermis constitute a