Complement activation and subsequent recruitment of inflammatory cells at the dermal/epidermal junction are thought to be essential for blister formation in bullous pemphigoid (BP), an autoimmune blistering disease induced by autoantibodies against type XVII collagen (COL17); however, this theory does not fully explain the pathological features of BP. Recently, the involvement of complement-independent pathways has been proposed. To directly address the question of the necessity of the complement activation in blister formation, we generated C3-deficient COL17-humanized mice. First, we show that passive transfer of autoantibodies from BP patients induced blister formation in neonatal C3-deficient COL17-humanized mice without complement activation. By using newly generated human and murine mAbs against the pathogenic noncollagenous 16A domain of COL17 with high (human IgG1, murine IgG2), low (murine IgG1), or no (human IgG4) complement activation abilities, we demonstrate that the deposition of Abs, and not complements, is relevant to the induction of blister formation in neonatal and adult mice. Notably, passive transfer of BP autoantibodies reduced the amount of COL17 in lesional mice skin, as observed in cultured normal human keratinocytes treated with the same Abs. Moreover, the COL17 depletion was associated with a ubiquitin/proteasome pathway. In conclusion, the COL17 depletion induced by BP autoantibodies, and not complement activation, is essential for the blister formation under our experimental system.

Eccrine porocarcinoma, also known as porocarcinoma (PC) and malignant eccrine poroma, is very rare and is known to arise from the cutaneous intraepidermal ducts of the sweat glands. Its etiology is not well understood; however, some studies suggest that PC tumors originate from benign eccrine poroma. Recently, several gene alterations have been reported in PC that can reveal mechanisms of the oncogenic process. Since the clinical and histopathological findings of PC are variable, PC is difficult to diagnose precisely, especially when the histology resembles that of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma or poroma. Immunohistochemical staining with carcinoembryonic antigen and epithelial membrane antigen may help to distinguish PC from other tumors. The standard treatment for local PC is wide local excision. The prognosis of patients with metastatic PC is poor, with mortality rates of approximately 60–70%. The efficacy of radiation and chemotherapy for metastatic PC is limited; however, immunotherapy with pembrolizumab, a programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor, could be a promising treatment. This review focuses on the history, pathogenesis, pathological features, diagnosis, and treatment of eccrine porocarcinoma.