ANTIEPITHELIAL ANTIBODIES IN BRAZILIAN PEMPHIGUS FOLIACEUS.

In 1941, techniques using fluorescent antibodies to locate antigens were used for the first time by Coons, Crech and Jones. Intercellular and epithelial antibodies in pemphigus vulgaris were demonstrated initially by Beutner and Jordan in 1964. The relationship between clinical severity and titers of serum antibodies has been a controversial subject. Antibodies are located in the intercellular spaces of the epidermis, where intraepidermal bullae with acantholytic cells develop. The antibodies are specific and present in almost all patients with active Brazilian pemphigus foliaceus.