Cicatricial Pemphigoid

Twelve cases of cicatricial pemphigoid, eight of which have not been previously reported, were studied using immunofluorescence. In 9 of the 12 patients, immunoglobulin could be demonstrated at the basement membrane zone (BMZ) of the skin, oral mucosa, or conjunctiva. The sera from 10 of the 12 patients was examined by indirect immunofluorescence using nine different substrate tissues as well as the patient's own normal skin and normal oral mucosa when negative on direct immunofluorescence. Three of the sera contained BMZ antibody; however, these antibodies exhibited certain substrate tissue specificities that may partially account for the small number of sera from patients with cicatricial pemphigoid in which BMZ antibody can be detected. The demonstration of these antibodies is further evidence that cicatricial pemphigoid and bullous pemphigoid may represent variants of the same basic disease process.