Assessment of Immune Cell Activation in Pemphigus

Abstract

(1) Background: Pemphigus is a blistering autoimmune disease of the skin and/or mucous membranes, characterised by the presence of specific autoantibodies directed against structural proteins of the human skin. Recent reports indicate that new haematological parameters, termed Extended Inflammation Parameters (EIP), can be used to assess the activation of immune cells during active inflammation. These include parameters assessing both neutrophil activation (NEUT-RI, NEUT-GI) and the number of activated lymphocytes (RE-LYMP). The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between changes in NEUT-RI, NEUT-GI and RE-LYMP and the disease activity in patients with pemphigus. (2) Results: The study involved 32 patients with diagnosed different types of pemphigus. Neutrophil activation parameters (NEUT-RI and NEUT-GI) and lymphocytes (RE-LYMP) were significantly higher in these patients compared to the parameters in healthy participants (respectively p = 0.0127, p = 0.0011 and p = 0.0033). The increased quantity of activated lymphocytes (RE-LYMP) also correlated significantly with the extent of skin and/or mucosal lesions in patients assessed by the PDAI scale (p < 0.02). (3) Conclusions: The NEUT-RI, NEUT-GI and RE-LYMP parameters proved to be appropriate markers of inflammation severity in pemphigus, also in relation to local lesions, which was not possible with the inflammation markers (CRP, ESR) used so far on a routine basis.