Antigen identification using skin deficient in basement-membrane protein: a novel tool for the diagnosis of subepidermal immunobullous diseases.

Common unifying features of the subepidermal blistering diseases are the presence of tense blisters clinically and demonstration by immunofluorescence of linear deposition of immunoreactants along the dermoepidermal junction. Further characterization of subtype is possible by identification of the target antigen by immunoblotting. However, immunoblotting is time-consuming and may not be practical for routine use in the laboratory. In this report, we describe a simple technique to identify the target antigen by indirect immunofluorescence, using epidermolysis bullosa skin as substrate.