# AN IN VITRO MODEL OF BULLOUS PEMPHIGOID

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 1988 · $131,962

## Abstract

An In Vitro Model of Bullous Pemphigoid - Complement activation and
production of complement-derived chemotactic activity is an important
functional property of tissue deposited immune complexes.  It has been
implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammation in a number of diseases
associated with immune complex deposits at the basement membrane zone, but
its relative importance in these diseases is not well understood due in
part to an inability to quantitate the function and determine its
relationship to histologic features of skin lesions.  In previous studies
of one of the diseases, bullous pemphigoid, methods were developed for
measuring this function.  In preliminary studies, evidence has been
obtained that the ability of immune complexes to express this function
varies among diseases and that there is a good correlation between this
function and histologic features characteristic of immune complex and
complement mediated inflammation.  In the present study, we plan to measure
this function in a variety of diseases, determine its relationship to
histologic features and its relationship to the ability of immune complexes
to mediate inflammation in organ culture and experimental animals.

Studies on Epidermolysis Bullosa Acquisita Antibodies - Epidermolysis
bullosa acquisita (EBA) antibodies are anti-basement membrane zone
autoantibodies regarded as specific for the disease, EBA.  They can be
distinguished from other known anti-basement membrane zone autoantibodies
by immunofluorescent and immunoultrastructural criteria and by reactivity
with 290 and 145 kd proteins extracted from dermis-lamina densa.  We have
obtained preliminary evidence that EBA-like antibodies are present in
patients with bullous eruption of SLE and nonbullous SLE and in an SLE-like
murine model of chronic graft vs. host disease in whom autoantibody
production is due to a defined H-2 incompatibility.  Our preliminary
studies also suggest production of EBA autoantibodies in man is closely
linked to a specific class II histocompatibility antigen.  In this study,
we plan to determine if EBA antibodies are present in the circulation and
cutaneous immune deposits in SLE, determine if murine models of SLE are
associated with EBA antibodies and characterize the class I and II
histocompatibility antigen in patients with EBA antibodies.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3155815
- **Project number:** 5R01AR030475-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** D3LHU66KBLD5
- **Principal Investigator:** WALTER R GAMMON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1988
- **Award amount:** $131,962
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1982-09-30 → 1989-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3155815

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3155815, AN IN VITRO MODEL OF BULLOUS PEMPHIGOID (5R01AR030475-06). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3155815. Licensed CC0.

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