Serum levels of soluble PD1 in pemphigus vulgaris: A useful marker for disease severity.

Background: Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is a life-threatening autoimmune blistering disease targeting the skin and mucous membranes. Programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) is an immune checkpoint which binds to two ligands, PDL1 and PDL2 resulting in negative regulation of antigen receptor signaling, thus, play a critical role in the immune regulation of autoimmune diseases.

Aim: In this work we aimed to assess serum levels of soluble PD1 (sPD1) in patients with active PV and in patients in remission in an attempt to evaluate its effect on disease severity.

Hypopigmented Interface T-Cell Dyscrasia and Hypopigmented Mycosis Fungoides: A Comparative Study.

Hypopigmented interface T-cell dyscrasia (HITCD) is a distinct form of lymphoid dyscrasia that may progress to hypopigmented mycosis fungoides (HMF). We compared both diseases as regards their CD4/CD8 phenotype and expression of granzyme B and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and how these are affected by narrow-band UVB (nb-UVB). The study included 11 patients with HITCD and 9 patients with HMF.

Microscopic study of normal skin in cases of mycosis fungoides.

Background: During therapy of patients with mycosis fungoides (MF) at the Department of Dermatology, Kasr El-Aini Hospital, follow-up biopsies are routinely taken every 2 months. It was noticed that lesions of MF might become clinically normal during treatment, and yet still show microscopical evidence of MF. This finding raised the possibility that clinically normal skin in MF could be microscopically involved.