Ultrastructure of uninvolved oral mucosa in pemphigus patients

Abstract

The uninvolved oral mucosa of seven pemphigus patients was compared with that of age- and sex-matched controls. Three patients had pemphigus erythematodes, two had pemphigus vulgaris, one had pemphigus foliaceus, and one pemphigus vegetans. Five out of seven pemphigus patients demonstrated wider intercellular spaces than the controls. This difference was seen in both basal and spinous epithelial cell layers and was more pronounced in the basal cell layer. There were fewer desmosomes and microvilli than in the controls. It appears that ultrastructural changes in pemphigus also occur in the uninvolved oral mucosa of pemphigus patients.