Native collagen XVII complex ELISA: An approach for diagnosis and monitoring of anti‐integrin β4 mucous membrane pemphigoid

Abstract

Dear Editor, Mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a chronic and heterogeneous autoimmune blistering disease that predominantly affects mucous membranes, although it can also involve the skin. 1 Target molecules of MMP autoantibodies include various basement membrane zone proteins such as collagen XVII (COL17, BP180), laminin-332, BP230, integrin (ITG) α6β4 and collagen VII (COL7) (Figure 1a). 2 Autoantibodies of MMP patients are typically low titre 1 ; thus, it is difficult to utilize antibody titre as a biomarker of disease activity in MMP. Some studies have suggested a potential association between autoantibodies against ITG β4 and pure ocular MMP. 3,4 However, the routine analysis of anti-ITG β4 autoantibody is not widely available due to the limited availability of specialized laboratories with in-house assay methods. 5 Furthermore, the prevalence and specific phenotype of anti-ITG β4 antibodies in MMP patients have not been clearly determined so far. 5