Evaluation of the Role of BIOCHIP Mosaic Based Indirect Immunofluorescence and ELISA BP 180 and BP 230 Autoantibodies in the Diagnosis of Bullous Pemphigoid Patients

BACKGROUND: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is characterized by tissue-bound and circulating Immunoglobulin G (IgG) autoantibodies against BP 180 and BP 230. Diagnosis of BP is a multi-step procedure. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a quantitative analysis of target antigens, whereas BIOCHIP mosaic-based indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) has a combination of screening and target antigen-specific substrates in a single miniature incubation field. This study is done to compare BIOCHIP mosaic based IIF and ELISA for the diagnosis of BP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 42 biopsy and/or direct immunofluorescence (DIF) proven BP patients were included in the study. Serum was subjected to BIOCHIP mosaic-based IIF and ELISA. The results were then compared. RESULTS: Using ELISA, the sensitivity of BP 180 and BP 230 was 92.3% and 54.5%, respectively. The sensitivity of BP 180 and BP 230 by BIOCHIP was 77.4% and 60%, respectively. The association between ELISA and BIOCHIP was analyzed using the Chi-square test and was found to be statistically significant with a P value ≤ 0.05. CONCLUSION: Our study concluded that both BIOCHIP and ELISA showed comparable sensitivity in diagnosing BP. Both are non-invasive, less time-consuming, and provide fast results. However, BIOCHIP can delineate bullous pemphigoid from other sub-epidermal bullous diseases.