Basal Cell Layer Antibodies in Patients With Burns

To the Editor.— Thermal injury is associated with various aberrations of immunologic responsiveness. 1 Of interest are observations of antiepithelial antibodies, 1-7 their relationship to the extent of injury, 1 and their possible causes and importance. 1 The report by Bystryn in the OctoberArchives(113:1380-1382, 1977) of the clinical importance of basal cell layer (BCL) antibodies and reference to their presence in patients with burns suggested that further commentary on the incidence of BCL antibodies in such patients would be of interest. A comparison of the incidence of BCL antibodies in studies of the serums of patients with burns by indirect immunofluorescence is presented in the accompanying Table. As shown, BCL antibodies were present in 18 (12%) of 177 serum samples evaluated. Except for BCL antibodies in two of three patients described by Ackermann-Schopf et al, 7 their highest incidence was noted in a recent study of 27 children,