Immunoelectron microscopy and immunofluorescence antigenic mapping: diagnostic applications

In selected situations, direct and indirect IEM may provide important diagnostic information for the clinician, as pertains to the diagnosis and therefore prognosis in a given patient. As discussed, however, all of the more conventional approaches should be pursued before consideration is given to the performance of IEM, knowing its relative cost and technical difficulty. In contrast, we consider immunofluorescence antigenic mapping to be the diagnostic method of choice for the determination of the type of inherited EB present in affected individuals. When additional ultrastructural or morphometric data is required, then TEM can be performed as an adjunct study once it is determined by mapping technique that additional useful information may be derived.