Di Lullo, Giulia Calabresi, Valentina Mariotti, Feliciana Zambruno, Giovanna Lanzavecchia, Antonio Di Zenzo, Giovanni 2019-06-19 Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an autoimmune bullous disease of the skin and mucous membranes characterized by the presence of circulating and tissue-bound autoantibodies against keratinocyte cell surface antigens, specifically desmoglein (Dsg) 1 and 3. The pathogenic role of anti-Dsg antibodies is well-established, while the mechanism of blister formation is only partly defined. We have applied a previously developed method for the efficient immortalization of IgG+ memory B cells to identify novel target antigens in PV. A human monoclonal antibody reactive with a hitherto unreported non-Dsg antigen was isolated. Immunoprecipitation and immunoblotting studies with keratinocyte extracts indicated α-catenin as the putative antigen, then confirmed by immunoblotting on the recombinant protein. Four of ten PV sera reacted with recombinant α- catenin. Although the isolated human monoclonal antibody was per se unable to dissociate keratinocyte monolayers and also to synergize with a pathogenic antibody in vitro, further studies are warranted to assess its possible in vivo contribution in the multifactorial pathogenesis and heterogeneous manifestations of PV disease. application/pdf https://localhost:5000/ark:/12658/srd1319094 https://susi.usi.ch/global/documents/319094 https://susi.usi.ch/documents/319094/files/DiLullo_FrontImmunol_2019.pdf eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.3389/fimmu.2019.01391 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/ark/12658/srd1319094 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess CC BY Frontiers in immunology. - 2019, vol. 10, p. 1391 Pemphigus Vulgaris Non-desmoglein autoantigens Autoantibodies Memory B cells A-catenin Skin Mucous membranes info:eu-repo/classification/udc/616 Identification of a novel non-desmoglein autoantigen in Pemphigus Vulgaris http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501