Studies in immunodermatology. XI. Demonstration of allospecificity of stratum corneum antibodies and antigens by indirect immunofluorescence.

The presence of allospecificities of stratum corneum (SC) antibodies was suggested by the observation that 5 normal human sera tested by indirect immunofluorescence (IF) on 5 unrelated normal human skins yielded variable titers on some skin specimens. Titers of SC antibodies of normal sera absorbed with ground callus collected from one donor in IF tests on 5 unrelated normal human skin specimens provided further evidence that allospecific SC antibodies are present in human sera and that SC antigens in different human skins are not identical. Since SC antibodies in human sera do not give significantly different titers on autologous skin substrates as compared to homologous ones, they behave both like auto- and alloantibodies.