Juvenile linear IgA dermatosis

In addition to hereditary epidermolysis, acquired chronic bullous diseases are also observed in childhood, juvenile linear IgA dermatosis being the most frequent. The case of a 6-year-old girl with the clinical, histological, electron microscopical and, especially, immunohistological findings typical for linear IgA dermatosis is reported. Successful therapy with oral sulfones is described.     

Burn-induced linear IgA dermatosis

There have been several reports of linear IgA dermatosis (LAD) associated with drug exposure and lymphoproliferative malignancy, but trauma and burns have been suggested only in patients with bullous pemphigoid. We present a case of burn-induced LAD in a 48-year-old caucasian male presenting with a recent history of blistering eruption on the periphery of a cicatricial area caused by boiling methyl alcohol. Clinically, he presented a widespread bullous eruption. The direct immunofluorescence examination of a perilesional biopsy revealed an intense homogeneous linear pattern of IgA deposition consistent with the diagnosis of LAD. The patient responded to therapy with systemic steroids.     

Localized linear IgA dermatosis induced by UV light-treatment for herpes zoster

We report a case of localized linear IgA dermatosis (LID). The patient suffered from herpes zoster on the right waist and received three localized ultraviolet (UV) light treatments. One month later he presented with bullae on the same site. Direct immunofluorescence showed deposition of linear IgA and weak C3 along the basement membrane zone. Indirect immunofluorescence on the salt-split human skin demonstrated that IgA antibodies were bound to the epidermal side. To our knowledge, this is the first case of localized LID induced by UV light treatment for herpes zoster. It is also the third case of LID induced by UV light.     

Captopril-triggered linear IgA bullous dermatosis

A 57-year-old African–American woman with a history of long-standing asthma, hypertension, and congestive heart failure was referred for an intensely pruritic, blistering eruption of 2 months duration. The blistering began 2 weeks after the initiation of captopril for essential hypertension. It was localized predominantly on the thighs and legs, but had recently spread to the upper extremities. Previously, the patient had been treated with albuterol and furosemide. She had been admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of acute varicella, which was ruled out by a negative Tzanck preparation. Clarithromycin was prescribed upon discharge. Physical examination revealed multiple healed and crusted erosions ranging in size from 1 to 7 cm on the anteromedial aspect of the thighs and legs ( Fig. 1 ). Discrete and confluent tense vesicles, some forming arciform or rosette-like patterns, were noted ( Fig. 2 ). Multiple hypopigmented macules and patches were seen. On the flexural aspect of the forearms, there were multiple small erosions, some of which appeared excoriated. There were no urticarial lesions, and the oral mucosa and scalp were spared.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Multiple healed and crusted erosions on the anteromedial aspect of the left thigh. Hypopigmented macules and patches are also evident     

Drug-induced linear IgA bullous dermatosis

A 73-year-old man was admitted to the University of California Davis Medical Center for treatment of a pleural effusion and congestive heart failure. His hospital course was complicated by asymptomatic sustained ventricular tachycardia requiring placement of an implantable cardiac defibrillator. The patient was treated with vancomycin and cefazolin during the procedure. After 3 days he developed tense vesicles over the dorsal aspect of the hands. Perilesional skin biopsy showed subepidermal cleavage with a neutrophilic infiltrate. Direct immunofluorescence revealed granular IgA and C3 deposition along the dermal epidermal junction. A diagnosis of drug-induced linear IgA bullous dermatosis secondary to vancomycin was established. Linear IgA bullous dermatosis is a rare autoimmune blistering disorder with clinical features that can overlap with bullous pemphigoid and dermatitis herpetiformis. Drug-induced linear IgA bullous dermatosis is a less common variant that is correspondingly less well characterized. Although a variety of medications have been implicated, vancomycin is the most common associated drug.     

新生儿线状IgA大疱性皮病

患儿男, 生后10 d, 因皮肤红斑、水疱6 d就诊入院。皮肤科检查:全身皮肤散在或融合分布红斑, 在正常皮肤或红斑基础上可见大小不等的紧张性水疱, 部分水疱破溃、糜烂;口腔黏膜可见血疱、红色糜烂面。组织病理检查示表皮下水疱, 疱内可见中性粒细胞及少量嗜酸性粒细胞。直接免疫荧光检查显示:沿基底膜带有均质型线状IgA和颗粒状C3沉积, IgG阴性。诊断:新生儿线状IgA大疱性皮病。给予营养支持、防感染等综合治疗后, 皮肤红斑、水疱消退, 黏膜损害减轻出院。患儿出院后16个月电话随访, 一般情况良好, 皮肤黏膜皮损消退、愈合, 无新发皮疹, 生长发育正常。     

Drug-induced linear IgA bullous dermatosis

We report the case of a 69-year-old Japanese woman with multiple blistering lesions covering almost her whole body. Linear IgA and C3 depositions were seen at the basement membrane zone on direct immunofluorescence (IF). Linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) is one of the autoimmune diseases resulting in subepidermal blisters. It is clinically similar to bullous pemphigoid and IF is required to distinguish the two diseases. In this case, the blistering lesions appeared after vancomycin treatment. This drug was strongly suspected as a cause of LABD in light of the clinical course of the patient even though a drug-lymphocyte stimulating test was negative. Among the various implicated causative drugs, vancomycin is the most commonly associated with LABD.     

IgA linear dermatosis (author's transl)]

Besides the typical forms of dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) and bullous pemphigoid (BP) of adults and children, there are cases combining clinical, histological and electronmicroscopic features of both. Linear continuous IgA deposits along basement membrane zone (BMZ) are a most characteristic finding. They differ from the granular IgA deposits in DH, even if these are also distributed along the BMZ (however, preserving as a rule their granular pattern). IgG circulating anti-BMZ antibodies are absent, whereas in some cases IgA anti-BMZ antibodies may be found. In contrast to DH, there is no gluten-sensitive enteropathy, and the gluten-free diet is ineffective. The recognition of this bullous disease as a distinct entity is of practical significance because these cases respond well to combined treatment with sulfones and corticosteroids, all in small doses. Because of diagnostic importance of linear IgA deposits at BMZ we have proposed the name IgA linear dermatosis. In children a counterpart of IgA linear dermatosis of adults is chronic bullous disease of childhood (CBDC), which we propose to call IgA linear dermatosis of childhood.     

Immunoelectron microscopic studies in IgA linear dermatosis

Summary The authors investigated three cases of IgA linear dermatosis by immunoelectron microscopy. In two of the cases there were additionally some IgG deposits in the basement membrane zone.The arrangement of the IgA deposits was found to vary. In two cases it was of the dermal and the lamina lucida type at the same time, and in one case it was so close to basal cell membranes as to leave an electronlucent space on the side facing the basal lamina. In the third case, the arrangement (only IgG and complement were studied) was exclusively of the dermal type.In one of the cases the deposits had first, i.e., 11/2 years earlier, been confined to the lamina lucida, whereas now they were also seen below the basal lamina, although the clinical condition of the patient had remained unchanged. It would seem that the localization of IgA deposits in the basement membrane zone may vary, depending on the evolution of the disease.     

线状IgA大疱性皮病研究进展

线状IgA大疱性皮病是一种以基底膜带存在连续性IgA抗体沉积为特点的罕见的自身免疫性大疱病,可能与遗传、药物、炎症性疾病、肿瘤等有关。线状IgA大疱性皮病的诊断依据临床表现、常规病理和免疫荧光。该病首选的治疗方案是口服氨苯砜,近年来也有生物制剂治疗该病的报道。本文从流行病学、病因、发病机制、临床表现、实验室检查、诊断及治疗等方面对线状IgA大疱性皮病进行总结。     

Localized linear IgA/IgG bullous dermatosis

Linear IgA/IgG bullous dermatosis (LAGBD) is an auto-immune blistering disease characterized by the local accumulation of IgA- and IgG-class anti-basement membrane autoantibodies. It typically presents as a generalized pruritic vesiculobullous eruption. No cases of localized LAGBD have yet been reported. We report a case of a 78-year-old man with LAGBD localized to the perianal area. The patient complained of suffering from persistent ulcers around the anus for more than 3 years. Physical examination revealed several blisters and ulcers up to 2-cm in diameter around the anus. No lesions were found elsewhere on the body. Histological analysis of a skin biopsy revealed subepidermal blistering, while direct immunofluorescence showed the linear deposition of IgA and IgG antibodies at the dermoepidermal junction. Indirect immunofluorescence of normal human skin whose layers had been separated using 1M NaCl showed the binding of both IgA and IgG to the epidermal side. Immunoblotting demonstrated the presence of circulating IgA and IgG autoantibodies that bound to a 120-kDa protein. This is the first case of localized LAGBD whose skin lesions were restricted to the perianal region.     

Scarring linear IgA dermatosis in the adult

A 54-year-old woman had a six-months history of a scarring blistering disease with clinical signs of dermatitis herpetiformis and bullous pemphigoid. Direct immunofluorescence examination showed homogeneously linear deposits of IgA along the dermo-epidermal junction. Electron microscopic studies revealed blistering above and beneath the lamina densa. Referring to this new case of a scarring linear IgA disease we discuss some other forms of scarring bullous diseases in adults.     

Paraneoplastic pemphigus resembling linear IgA bullous dermatosis

A 69-year-old Chinese man presented in 2001 with a blistering eruption over the upper and lower limbs associated with oral ulceration for 1 month. He had stage IIIA follicular small cell cleaved non-Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed 5 years previously, and had received several lines of palliative chemotherapy, including two courses of chlorambucil, six cycles of cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP), and two four-cycle courses of rituximab, with disease stabilization at the time of presentation. Examination revealed erythematous, annular plaques with raised, urticarial borders studded with tense bullae and vesicles over the thighs. Some lesions were arciform and annular, with vesicles arranged in a ring at the border (Fig. 1). There was involvement of the feet with desquamation at the tips of the toes (Fig. 2). Severe erosions with hemorrhagic crusts on the lips, tongue, and buccal mucosa were seen. Herpes simplex virus serology was negative. A biopsy specimen from a vesicle on the left thigh showed suprabasal acantholysis (Fig. 3), some apoptotic keratinocytes (Fig. 4), satellite cell necrosis in the epidermis, and a superficial perivascular infiltrate of lymphocytes and eosinophils. Direct immunofluorescence showed intercellular immunoglobulin G (IgG) and C3 within the epidermis and along the basement membrane zone. Indirect immunofluorescence on monkey esophagus was positive for anti-intercellular antibody at a titre of 1/160 and positive on rat bladder at a titre of 1/80. A presumptive diagnosis of paraneoplastic pemphigus was made. This was later confirmed by the presence of antibodies against envoplakin (210 kDa), periplakin (190 kDa), and desmoglein 1 on immunoprecipitation studies. He was started on prednisolone 60 mg/day (1 mg/kg/day), with complete resolution of skin lesions within 1 week, but persistence of oral ulcers. Cyclophosphamide was added at a low dose of 1 mg/kg/day as he had baseline leukopenia. Cyclosporine was later added to a maximum of 4 mg/kg/day with only mild improvement of the oral lesions. He declined rituximab therapy. He died 2 months later from fulminant pneumonia.     

IgA autoantibodies in the pemphigoids and linear IgA bullous dermatosis

Please cite this paper as: IgA autoantibodies in the pemphigoids and linear IgA bullous dermatosis. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: 648–653. Background: Patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP), mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) and pemphigoid gestationis (PG) have IgG antibodies against BP180 and BP230, components of the hemidesmosomes. Patients with linear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) have IgA autoantibodies against a 97/120‐kDa protein which is highly homologous to a shedded fragment of the BP180‐ectodomain. Objectives: The aim of our study was to determine the incidence of IgA autoantibodies directed against BP180/BP230 in the pemphigoids and LABD and to determine the antigenic regions that are targeted by IgA autoantibodies. Methods: Utilizing baculovirus‐expressed recombinant BP180 and BP230 proteins, we performed immunoblot analyses for IgA reactivity of sera from patients with BP (n = 30), MMP (n = 10), PG (n = 6), LABD (n = 6) and from control patients with non‐related pruritic dermatoses (n = 8). Results: IgA reactivity against BP180 and/or BP230 was detected in 19/30 of the BP, in 7/10 of the MMP, in 6/6 of the LABD and in 3/6 of the PG sera, respectively, but not in the control group. In all subgroups, the major antigenic site recognized by IgA antibodies was located within the NH₂‐terminus of the BP180‐ectodomain, but only a minority of the sera showed also IgA reactivity against the BP180‐NC16a‐domain. IgA reactivity against the central domain of BP180 was more frequently seen than against its COOH‐terminus. IgA against the COOH‐ and NH₂‐terminus of BP230, respectively, was detected in 6/30 of the BP, 1/10 of the MMP, 1/6 of the LABD and 0/8 control sera. Conclusion: IgA reactivity against BP180 and/or BP230 is a common finding in the pemphigoids.     

Dermatitis herpetiformis Duhring with linear deposits of IgA (linear IgA dermatosis)

Three patients with linear deposits of IgA along the epidermal basement membrane were studied. The clinical and histopathological picture as well as the response to dapsone were typical of dermatitis herpetiformis. Two of the three patients were HLA-B8/DR3-positive. By immunoelectron microscopy, the previously reported two types of linear IgA deposits were confirmed: in one patient, the IgA precipitates were localized below the basal lamina as in dermatitis herpetiformis, in the other two above the basal lamina in the lamina lucida as in bullous pemphigoid. The immunoelectron microscopic findings imply that in some patients with linear IgA dermatosis a pathomechanism different from that in classical dermatitis herpetiformis may be operative.