Bay Biosciences provides high quality, clinical grade bio-samples, biopsy tissue samples with matched sera (serum), plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) biofluid specimens from patients diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) disease.

Moreover, the serum, plasma and PBMC biofluid samples are processed from patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized processing protocols.

The bio-specimens are collected from unique patients diagnosed with from pemphigus vulgaris and provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, development and drug discovery.

Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV) Overview

Pemphigus Vulgaris is a rare, severe autoimmune disease that causes painful blistering and erosions on the skin and mucous membranes, most commonly inside the mouth. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakenly attacks your own healthy tissues.

Furthermore, pemphigus vulgaris is the most common type of a group of autoimmune disorders called pemphigus. Specifically, the immune system mistakenly attacks proteins in the upper layers of the skin in pemphigus vulgaris.

Patients with pemphigus vulgaris disease have severe blistering in the mouth and on other areas of the body. In addition, sometimes sheets of skin peel off. Moreover, each type of pemphigus is characterized by where the blisters form, that is to say, in which part of the body.

Onset Age

In terms of prevalence, pemphigus can occur at any age; however, it most often develops in people who are middle-aged or older. Notably, the disease is more prevalent in people with Jewish and Spaniard ancestry.

In fact, the association of pemphigus with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) is widely accepted. Additionally, researchers have described it in many ethnic groups and, furthermore, in most countries of the world.

For instance, studies showed that the associated HLA haplotype in Jewish pemphigus vulgaris (PV) patients is HLA-B38, DRB10402, and DQB10302; or alternatively, HLA-B35, DRB10402, and DQB10302.

Moreover, pemphigus vulgaris tends to be a long-lasting (chronic) condition, and consequently, some types can be life-threatening without treatment. Treatment with medication usually controls it. Importantly, pemphigus is not a contagious disease.

In most cases, it’s unknown what triggers the disease; however, rarely, pemphigus is triggered by the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, penicillamine, and other drugs.

Affected Areas

Pemphigus vulgaris affects the mucous membranes, which are found in areas including the:

  • Mouth
  • Throat
  • Nose
  • Eyes
  • Genitals
  • Lungs

Specifically, pemphigus vulgaris disease usually starts with blisters in the mouth and then on the skin. Additionally, the blisters sometimes affect the membranes of the genitals.

Therefore, pemphigus vulgaris can be dangerous. Thus, treatment is essential, and typically involves the use of corticosteroids to suppress the immune system.

The condition can cause serious complications if it isn’t treated. Furthermore, some of these complications can be fatal. In fact, the death rate from this disease had averaged 75 percent before corticosteroids were introduced in the 1950s. However, this has improved dramatically with today’s treatments.

Pemphigus Vulgaris Signs and Symptoms

The symptoms of Pemphigus Vulgaris include:

Moreover, pemphigus causes blisters on the skin and mucous membranes. Consequently, the blisters rupture easily, leaving open sores, which may ooze and become infected.

The signs and symptoms of common types of pemphigus are as follows:

  • Firstly, painful blisters that start in the mouth or skin areas
  • Secondly, skin blisters near the surface of the skin that come and go
  • Moreover, oozing, crusting, or peeling at the blister site
  • Furthermore, pemphigus Vulgaris – This type usually begins with blisters in your mouth and then on your skin or genital mucous membranes. The blisters typically are painful but don’t itch. Blisters in your mouth or throat may make it hard to swallow and eat.
  • In addition, Pemphigus Foliaceus -This type causes blisters on the chest, back and shoulders. The blisters tend to be more itchy than painful. Pemphigus foliaceus doesn’t cause mouth blisters.
  • Likewise, Pemphigus Vegetans – Pemphigus vegetans causes blisters that appear on the groin, under the arms, and on the feet.
  • Finally, Paraneoplastic Pemphigus – A very rare type of pemphigus that occurs in people with some cancers is called paraneoplastic pemphigus. The blisters and sores may appear in the mouth, on the lips, and on the skin. This type may also cause scars on the eyelids and eyes. It can also cause lung problems.

Pemphigus is distinct from bullous pemphigoid, which is a blistering skin condition that affects older adults and may cause death.

Pemphigus Vulgaris Causes 

The immune system produces proteins called antibodies. In general, antibodies normally attack harmful foreign substances like bacteria and viruses. However, Pemphigus Vulgaris occurs when the immune system mistakenly makes antibodies against proteins in healthy skin and mucous membranes.

As a result, the antibodies break down the bonds between the cells, and fluid collects between the layers of the skin. Consequently, this leads to blisters and erosions on the skin. Furthermore, the precise cause of the attack by the immune system isn’t known.

Moreover, the body’s immune system makes special cells that protect the body against harmful foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses. Specifically, some of these cells respond to invaders by producing proteins called antibodies.

These antibodies target and attach to the invaders and attract other cells in the immune system to destroy them. In contrast, in an autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues, in this case, the skin.

Additionally, the antibodies produced by the immune system attack specific proteins that connect the epidermal cells or the cells in the top layer of skin, to each other. When these connections are disrupted, the cells separate from each other and from the lower layers of the skin, thus blisters form.

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is an acquired autoimmune disease in which, specifically, IgG antibodies target desmosomal proteins to produce intraepithelial, mucocutaneous blistering. Desmoglein (Dsg3) is, in fact, the major antigen. However, 50–60% of patients have additional antibodies to Dsg1, which is the antigen in pemphigus foliaceus (PF). Consequently, the underlying antibody profile is a major determinant of the clinical phenotype of PV.

Pemphigus Vulgaris Complications

Furthermore, possible complications of pemphigus include:

  • Infection of the skin
  • Additionally, infection that spreads to the bloodstream (sepsis)
  • Moreover, malnutrition, because painful mouth sores make it difficult to eat and drink
  • Furthermore, medication side effects, such as high blood pressure and infection
  • Finally, death, if certain types of pemphigus are left untreated.

Biospecimens

biospecimens

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens, and human bio-fluid collections.

Moreover, human biospecimens are available including tumor tissue, serum, plasma and PBMC samples from most other therapeutic areas.

Furthermore, Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and likewise normal healthy donors for controls. Additionally, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.