Abstract: Objective To determine the relationship between tumour necrosis factor ix(TNFα) and its soluble receptor type Ⅰ(sTNF-RI) and their significance in autoimmune hullous dermatoses.Methods The levels of TNFα and sTNF-R I in both sera and blister fluids of 31 cases with bullous pemphigoid(BP) and 9 cases with pemphigus vulgaris(PV) were investigated by ELISA.Fifteen suction blister fluids and 30 sera from normal individuals were taken as the control.Results At active stage, the levels of sTNF-RI were higher in hoth the sera and blister fluids from patients with BP and PV than those from the controls, and were much higher in hlister fluids than in sera.The serum level of sTNF-RI was even higher at early remission stage than at active stage of BP.There were traces or undetectable amount of TNFcr in both sera and hlister fluids of BP cases.TNFα level was much low in sera of PV cases, but higher in PV patients' blister fluids than in control group's.Conclusion sFNF-RI and TNFα might be related to the pathogenesis of the two diseases, and the former might exert a protective effect on the inflammatory reaction and might serve as a new indicator for evaluation of the severity of BP and the effectiveness of therapy.The effects of sTNF-RI and TNFα in BP and PV might be different.TNFαmight be much important for blister formation in PV.

Key words: Pemphigoid,bullous, Pemphigus, Tumor necrosis factor, Receptors,tumor necrosis factor