An animal model of antibody binding in cutaneous lupus

Abstract

To study antibody binding in cutaneous lupus, we used human skin grafted onto nude mice. By immunofluorescence examination, mice injected with anti-Ro (SS-A) sera from subacute cutaneous or neonatal lupus erythematosus patients showed evidence of human IgG deposited in the skin, while mice injected with anti-native DNA or normal sera did not. We present evidence that there is specific binding of anti-Ro (SS-A) antibodies to Ro (SS-A) antigen in the skin, and we propose that these antibodies may be directly involved in cutaneous disease.