A 42-year-old woman of Mediterranean descent presents with multiple oral blisters and a few cutaneous blisters on her back and buttocks. The superficial bullae are fragile, some have unroofed to form ulcerated lesions, and there is a positive Nikolsky sign. Blood tests reveal antibodies to a subfamily of cadherins and immunohistochemical staining of a biopsy from the oral mucosa shows distribution of the antigen throughout the epithelium. In what structures is the defect that is causing this patient's condition?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The patient's symptoms and test results are indicative of pemphigus vulgaris, an autoimmune condition where antibodies target desmosomes, which are responsible for cell-to-cell adhesion in the epithelium.

A 42-Year-Old Woman of Mediterranean Descent Presents with Multiple Oral