[Immunogenetic findings in herpes gestationis].

A 27-year-old woman suffered from herpes gestationis in her second pregnancy. The pruricy urticarial and bullous skin lesions were exacerbated immediately after birth, and premenstrually after the onset of menstruation. The diagnosis was confirmed by the determination of anti-basement membrane antibodies of the IgG class both in the serum (herpes gestationis factor) and in lesional skin by immunofluorescence techniques. The newborn had no skin lesions and no basement membrane zone antibodies were detected. The HLA (human leucocyte antigen) typing revealed the HLA-A11/1, B18/w63, C-/-, DR4/w13, DQw3/w1 haplotype in the mother and the HLA-A3/31, B7/35, Cw7/w4, DR2/3, DQw1/w2 haplotype in the father. Comparison with the first child (HLA-A11/31, B18/35, -/Cw4, DR4/3, DQw3/w2) showed that the second child (HLA-A11/3, B18/7, -/Cw7, DR4/2, DQw3/w1) had a different HLA haplotype. The pattern of the HLA haplotype of the mother and the father seems to be important in the immunopathogenesis of herpes gestationis.