Abstract
Summary
By sucrose density gradient ul-tracentrifugation and standard hemolytic complement assays, complement fixing activity of about 19 S and greater was found in blister fluids of one patient with pemphigus and three of five patients with bullous pem-phigoid. Control blister fluids, including experimentally induced blisters, lacked such activity. Complement fixing activity was apparent, however, in 6 of 10 pemphigus sera and in two of five bullous pemphigoid sera tested. The material present in both pemphigus and bullous pemphigoid appears to activate the classical complement pathway.
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