[Anticytoplasmic antibodies of human epidermal cells (author's transl)]

Antibodies reacting with the cytoplasm of epidermal cells (E. C. A.) were defected by indirect immunofluorescence (I.I.F.) studies of 255 sera in various dermatoses (8 p. 100) and significantly more frequently (46 p. 100) in bone marrow transplanted patients having skin lesions. Bound E.C.A. were only found in two cases. E.C.A. were found to be devoided of any diagnostic value. E.C.A. were interpreted as the result of a skin injury liberating skin antigens which stimulated their production. The reaction of E.C.A. in I.I.F. on human skins substrates showed three different patterns; in some cases only the basal cell layer was stained; in others only the supra basal layers were stained; in other all the layers were stained. A serum was shown to be able to give the three patterns of reaction (or no reaction at all) if different human skins were used as substrate. Autologous skins never gave a basal cell layer staining. These findings support the facts that (I) there is antigenic differences between the basal cell layer and the supra basal layers (with regard to the cytoplasmic antigens) (II) these antigens may be different from one subject to the other, supporting the allogeneic nature of this system. Therefore, E.C.A. are regarded as a useful marker of the human skin cytoplasmic antigens.