Evaluation of Lewis blood group antigens and secretor status in pemphigus vulgaris

Summary Background There has not been publication of any previous study about the role of secretory status or Lewis phenotypes in the mechanisms of pemphigus vulgaris ( PV ). Aim To evaluate the frequencies of secretory status and Lewis phenotypes in patients with PV compared with healthy controls ( HC s) in order determine their roles in this autoimmune disease. Methods In total, 50 patients and 100 age‐ and sex‐matched HC s were selected to form the study population, and 2  mL blood were collected from each subject to identify their Lewis phenotype. In subjects with the Le(a−b−) phenotype, saliva was also collected to determine secretor status. Results The frequency of the nonsecretor ( NS ) phenotypes Le(a+b−) and Le(a−b−) together was significantly higher in patients than in HC s: 34/50 (68%)vs. 26/100 (26%), respectively ( P  < 0.001). All the patients and HC subjects with the Le (a−b−) phenotype were found to be NS by haemagglutination inhibition assay of saliva samples. Conclusion Based on our results, it seems that Le/b‐negative NS individuals are more susceptible to PV .