Detection of anti-type Ⅶ collagen antibodies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the auxiliary diagnosis of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita: a case report and literature review / 中华皮肤科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the performance of anti-type Ⅶ collagen antibody detection using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the auxiliary diagnosis of a case of epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA),and to analyze its sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of EBA in large-scale studies by review of relevant literature.Methods Serum samples were collected from a patient with typical clinical,histological and immunological manifestations of EBA,4 healthy human controls,5 patients with bullous pemphigoid and 3 patients with pemphigus vulgaris.ELISA was performed to determine the serum levels of anti-type Ⅶ collagen antibodies.Literature regarding the diagnosis of EBA using ELISA was reviewed with a summary of inclusion criteria for patient enrollment,coating antigens,sensitivity and specificity.A comparison was carried out between ELISA and the other serological methods.Results Anti-type Ⅶ collagen antibodies were detected by ELISA in the serum of the patient with EBA (136 U/ml),but not in the other serum samples.The sensitivity and specificity of ELISA in the diagnosis of EBA differed in different studies,but in general,the accuracy of ELISA was higher than that of immunoblotting.Conclusion ELISA is a simple and convenient tool for the diagnosis of EBA with high accuracy.