Mouquet H, Berrih-Aknin S, Bismuth J, Joly P, Gilbert D, Tron F. Expression of pemphigus-autoantigen desmoglein 1 in human thymus.
ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008;
71:464-70. [PMID:
18331528 DOI:
10.1111/j.1399-0039.2008.01020.x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Desmoglein (Dsg) 1 is a transmembrane glycoprotein of the desmosome allowing cell-cell adhesion between keratinocytes, whose expression is restricted to stratified squamous epithelia-like epidermis. Dsg1 is the target autoantigen of pathogenic autoantibodies produced by pemphigus foliaceus and 50% of pemphigus vulgaris patients in a Dsg1-specific T-cell-dependent pathway. Herewith, we show that mRNA of the DSG1 gene is present in normal human thymus and show by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis that the expression of DSG1 transcript increases with age. Although immunoblot analysis on human thymus extracts using different anti-Dsg1 antibodies did not allow to detect the protein, we show by double-immunofluorescence assay that Dsg1 is expressed at protein level by CD19+ CD63+ cells located in the medulla. These data provide another illustration of the thymic expression of a tissue-specific autoantigen involved in an organ-specific autoimmune disease, which may participate in the tolerance acquisition and/or regulation of Dsg1-specific T cells.
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