Pemphigus: An Unfolding Story

Abstract

Our evaluable hypotensis is that anti-Dsg autoantibodies do not act alone to cause pemphigus. Rather, we assert that other autoantibodies, which accompany antibodies directed against Dsg1 and Dsg3, play pivotal roles in the development of disease. We are also focusing on a new chapter in the story, termed "pemphigus immunopharmacology", in which conventional pharmacologic agents may exert significant therapeutic benefit in pemphigus. Clearly, this saga is still unfolding, because other autoantibodies found in pemphigus patients remain uncharacterized. We therefore agree with Stanley and colleagues that the significance of anti-AChR antibodies in pemphigus needs to be explored further, as the final chapter on pemphigus has not yet been written. With this debate comes the promise of novel and more efficient therapies to benefit patients who suffer from this serious disease.