Study of desmoglein 1 and 3 antibody levels in relation to disease severity in Indian patients with pemphigus

Objectives : To conduct a cross-sectional study to compare Dsg1 and Dsg3 antibody levels independently with severity of disease activity in pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and pemphigus foliaceus (PF).
Methods : Blood samples from 44 patients with pemphigus (PV-38, PF-6) were analyzed using ELISA. The severity of skin and mucosal disease was graded using a score from 0 to 3.
Results: A statistically significant correlation between increase in Dsg 3 antibody titres with severity of oral involvement and Dsg 1 titres with severity of skin involvement was found in both PV and PF patients ( p < 0.01). However, we were unable to demonstrate a relationship between increased titres of Dsg1 and Dsg 3 antibodies with oral and skin involvement respectively.
Conclusion : This study suggests that the severity of skin and oral disease in pemphigus is determined by the quantities of Dsg1 and Dsg3 antibodies respectively.