Basement Membrane Zone Flashcards
what is the basement membrane zone?
a complex structure that provides dermo-epidermal adhesion and regulates many important processes such as cell differentiation, motility, and the transmission of extracellular signals.
what do the ultrastructures of the BMZ include?
Hemidesmosomes (BP 230, BP 180) Lamina lucida (BP 180) Lamina densa (laminin 332, collagen IV) Sublamina densa (collagen VII)
what are hemidesmosomes?
small structures on the inner surface of basal keratinocytes that are composed of many structural proteins. They are similar in form to desmosomes when visualized by electron microscopy.
how are hemidesmosomes different from desmosomes?
While desmosomes link two cells together, hemidesmosomes attach one cell to the extracellular matrix
what is Bullous Pemphigoid Antigen 1?
BP 230. it belongs to the plakin family of proteins, has cytoplasmic localization and is important for the organization of the cytoskeletal architecture
what is bullous pemphigoid antigen 2?
Now referred to as type XVII collagen, BP 180 is a transmembrane protein connecting basal keratinocytes and cytoskeleton (via BP 230) to dermal collagen VII (via laminin 332).
what is the second layer of the BMZ? where?
Immediately underlying hemidesmosomes is a thin structure known as the lamina lucida (LL). Newer techniques using high-pressure freeze substitution electron microscopy suggest that LL may be an artifact of tissue preparation and dehydration.
what is the lamina densa composed of?
mostly type IV collagen and laminins
what is type IV collagen?
this is one of the most abundant collagenous glycoproteins of the BMZ, comprising more than half of its mass. it is a heteropolymer which polymerizes into a triple helix and lattice formation
the most abundant non-collagenous BMZ glycoproteins?
laminins
he key BMZ laminin is?
laminin 332
Laminin-332 binds to?
this binds to the transmembrane protein of the hemidesmosome integrin α6β4 using the G domain on its α3 chain, as well as to type VII collagen using its NC-1 domain, bridging the BMZ.
what is type VII collagen made of?
large protein, composed of three identical alpha-chains that form anchoring fibrils
what is the role of type VII collagen?
it is necessary to maintain epidermal-dermal cohesion, since it binds to both type I and type IV collagens, which further allows the type VII collagen molecule to join the lamina densa to the papillary dermis
what is the process of a routine biopsy? what does it determine?
taken from the edge of blister and processed by regular histologic (hematoxylin & eosin, H&E) staining to determine blister level and inflammatory infiltrate.
what does DIF do?
helps detect molecules such as immunoglobulins and complement (C3) within biopsy specimens.
where are DIF samples taken from?
The skin samples are taken from perilesional skin.
what does DIF detect? how?
Commercially-available fluorescein-conjugated antibodies against human immunoglobulins or complement are used to detect in-situ (in the patient skin) deposits of immunoreactants under the fluorescence microscope.