Epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) is a difficult-to-treat subepidermal autoimmune blistering skin disease (AIBD) with circulating and tissue-bound anti-type VII collagen antibodies. Different reports have indicated an increased concentration of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) in the serum and blister fluid of patients with subepidermal AIBDs. Furthermore, successful anti-TNF treatment has been reported for individual patients with AIBDs. Here, we show that in mice, induction of experimental EBA by repeated injections of rabbit-anti mouse type VII collagen antibodies led to increased expression of TNF in skin, as determined by real-time PCR and immunohistochemistry. To investigate if the increased TNF expression is of functional relevance in experimental EBA, we inhibited TNF function using the soluble TNF receptor fusion protein etanercept (Enbrel®) or a monoclonal antibody to murine TNF. Interestingly, mice receiving either of these two treatments showed significantly milder disease progression than controls. In addition, immunohistochemical staining demonstrated reduced numbers of macrophages in lesional skin in mice treated with TNF inhibitors compared to controls. Furthermore, etanercept treatment significantly reduced the disease progression in immunization-induced EBA. In conclusion, the increased expression of TNF in experimental EBA is of functional relevance, as both the prophylactic blockade of TNF and the therapeutic use of etanercept impaired the induction and progression of experimental EBA. Thus, TNF is likely to serve as a new therapeutic target for EBA and AIBDs with a similar pathogenesis.
Keywords: TNF-alpha; chemokines; dermatology; immunology; inflammation.