Site-specific Glycan Alterations in Pemphigus Vulgaris: Sialylated Modifications Correlate with Disease Activity

To identify glycan alterations in pemphigus, we obtained de-identified serum samples from patients with pemphigus vulgaris and healthy controls from the University of Utah reference laboratory. For these samples, DSG1 and DSG3-specific autoantibody titers were determined by standardized ELISA assay. Skin-directed autoantibodies were determined by indirect immunofluorescence using normal skin as a substrate. Glycoproteomic profiling was performed by Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) mass spectrometry (MS) (Hong et al., 2015, Li et al., 2019, Merleev et al., 2020, Park et al., 2018). Associations between glycopeptides and age, gender, and presence or absence of disease were determined by multiple regression.