Bullous pemphigoid (BP), an autoimmune skin disease of the elderly, is mediated by autoantibodies that bind to hemidesmosomes of epidermal basal cells. This study investigated BP-associated HLA-DR and -DQ genes among Japanese patients. We analyzed HLA-DR and -DQ genes among 23 Japanese BP patients based on the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Eighteen of these 23 patients (78%) carried at least one allele of HLA-DRB1*04 or DRB1*1101, with significant increases in HLA-DRB1*04 (*0403, *0406)/DQA1*0301/DQB1*0302 and DRB1*1101/DQA1*0505/DQB1*0302 haplotypes as well as the individual alleles DRB1*1101 and DQB1*0302 (corrected p < 0.05 for each comparison), when compared to control subjects. These data differ from the accepted DQB1*0301 (DQ7) association with the same disease among Caucasians. These findings indicate that different HLA class II haplotypes genetically influence susceptibility to BP among different ethnic groups. Our findings, together with previous reports on Caucasian patients with the pemphigoid group of bullous diseases, suggest that HLA-DRB1 molecules might participate in the regulation of autoimmune responses to BP antigens.

Hyperimmunoglobulinaemia D and periodic fever syndrome was observed in a female patient with erythema elevatum diutinum. The association of this skin disease with hyperimmunoglobulinaemia D may indicate a pathogenetic relationship. The skin lesions responded to dapsone therapy.

The monoclonal paraprotein from a typical case of scleromyxedema was isolated and characterized. The isolated paraprotein was of the IgG-lambda class, with a molecular weight of approximately 110,000 daltons compared with 160,000 daltons for normal IgG. Immunochemical studies indicated that the paraprotein was an incomplete IgG molecule which was missing a significant antigenic portion of the Fd fragment.

Summary Mechanisms of prolonged cytopenia (PC) after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T‐cell therapy, an emerging therapy for relapsed or refractory diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma, remain elusive. Haematopoiesis is tightly regulated by the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment, called the ‘niche’. To investigate whether alterations in the BM niche cells are associated with PC, we analysed CD271+ stromal cells in BM biopsy specimens and the cytokine profiles of the BM and serum obtained before and on day 28 after CAR T‐cell infusion. Imaging analyses of the BM biopsy specimens revealed that CD271+ niche cells were severely impaired after CAR T‐cell infusion in patients with PC. Cytokine analyses after CAR T‐cell infusion showed that CXC chemokine ligand 12 and stem cell factor, niche factors essential for haematopoietic recovery, were significantly decreased in the BM of patients with PC, suggesting reduced niche cell function. The levels of inflammation‐related cytokines on day 28 after CAR T‐cell infusion were consistently high in the BM of patients with PC. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time that BM niche disruption and sustained elevation of inflammation‐related cytokines in the BM following CAR T‐cell infusion are associated with subsequent PC.