Pemphigus and pemphigoid as paradigms of organ-specific, autoantibody-mediated diseases

Abstract

Pemphigus and BP are models for what can be, and has been, accomplished with autoantibodies from patients in understanding pathogenesis of disease as well as the structure and function of normal tissues. Similar studies have been performed with other tissue-specific, autoantibody-mediated diseases, such as myasthenia gravis and Goodpasture's Syndrome. Even in non-organ-specific autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, autoantibodies have been used as tools to define the biochemistry and function of molecules important in cell physiology. These autoantibody-mediated diseases clearly reinforce the general principle that the study of disease also helps us to understand normal tissue.