Oral and maxillofacial pathologyDiagnosis of oral mucous membrane pemphigoid by means of combined serologic testing

ObjectiveMucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP) is a rare autoimmune bullous disease caused by various autoantibodies. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of MMP-specific autoantibodies in patient sera.Study DesignWe analyzed sera from 30 MMP-suspected patients with intractable oral mucosal lesions using a combination of indirect immunofluorescence with 1M NaCl-split skin, immunoblot analysis, and ELISAs. We also analyzed clinical features among different types of MMP.ResultsSeventeen, 4, and 3 patients were diagnosed with anti-BP180-type MMP, anti-laminin-332-type MMP, and combined anti-BP180/anti-laminin-332-type MMP, respectively.ConclusionsOur results indicated that a combination of immunologic testing for circulating autoantibodies is useful for the diagnosis of MMP.