Understanding Drug‐Induced Pemphigus Risks: A Comprehensive Review of Pharmacovigilance Data and Underlying Mechanisms

1. Introduction

Pemphigus is an autoimmune skin disorder characterized by autoantibodies against cell adhesion proteins (primarily desmogleins), causing acantholysis and blister formation on the skin and mucous membranes. Although a strong genetic predisposition exists—most notably with certain HLA alleles—the disease is thought to arise from a multifactorial interplay between genetic and environmental factors. Among the environmental triggers, drugs have garnered significant attention as potential initiators or exacerbators of pemphigus. Historically, the initial link between pharmaceuticals and pemphigus was made over 50 years ago, and subsequent case reports have highlighted many agents that may predispose susceptible individuals to develop this disorder.

2. Epidemiology and Genetic Predisposition

Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) occurs at variable prevalence rates around the world, with reports ranging from 0.38 per 100,000 in some regions to as high as 30 per 100,000 in others. Genetic determinants, especially the presence of class II HLA alleles (e.g., DRB10402 and DQB10503), have been identified in a majority of patients, suggesting an underlying genetic vulnerability. However, the incomplete concordance observed in monozygotic twins indicates that environmental exposures—including pharmacologic agents—are crucial for disease development.

3. Drugs as Environmental Triggers in Pemphigus

Drugs have been implicated in triggering or unmasking pemphigus in genetically predisposed individuals. Among these pharmaceuticals, several are grouped based on their structural properties:

• Thiol agents:
  Penicillamine, gold sodium thiomalate, and piroxicam contain free thiol groups. These compounds can directly interact with epidermal proteins and have been shown to cause acantholysis in vitro. Penicillamine was one of the first drugs reported to trigger pemphigus, with studies suggesting that approximately 7% of patients receiving long-term treatment may develop the disorder.

• Phenol compounds:
  Rifampin and certain non-thiol anti-inflammatory drugs in the phenol group may induce an immune response through formation of neoantigens or by driving cytokine-mediated inflammation. Rifampin, for example, has been noted in case reports as both triggering and exacerbating pemphigus in susceptible individuals.

• Non-thiol, non-phenol agents:
  Drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, lisinopril, and aspirin fall into this category. Although these agents do not share the same chemical reactivity as thiols or phenols, they have been associated with pemphigus through mechanisms that likely involve modulation of the immune response.

• Immunomodulatory therapies:
  The immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab and the topical immune response modifier imiquimod have both been reported to either trigger or worsen pemphigus. These drugs alter immune homeostasis through T-cell activation or blockade of negative regulatory pathways and have increasingly come under scrutiny from a safety perspective.

A growing body of literature and numerous case reports have linked these drugs to pemphigus outbreaks. However, the majority of prior associations originated from isolated case reports, and population-level data were historically scarce.

4. Pharmacovigilance Analysis Using FAERS Data

Pharmacovigilance systems such as the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) have now allowed researchers to perform disproportionality analyses on large spontaneous reporting databases. Such analysis assesses the relationship between a drug and adverse event (AE) by calculating the reporting odds ratio (ROR). An elevated ROR for a specific drug-AE combination suggests a potential safety signal that warrants further investigation.

In our review of FAERS data for pemphigus-related adverse events, several drugs showed statistically significant signals compared to other pharmaceuticals. Notably, 11 out of 36 drugs that had been previously implicated in literature demonstrated disproportionately higher reporting of pemphigus cases. These include:

• Gold sodium thiomalate – Often used as an anti-rheumatic agent, this drug has a paradoxical profile in pemphigus. While used in the past as a treatment option for pemphigus, it has been more frequently reported as a trigger in spontaneous reports.
• Penicillamine – As one of the earliest implicated drugs, penicillamine remains a principal example of a thiol drug capable of inducing acantholysis.
• Piroxicam – Another thiol-containing agent, with case reports supporting its role in provoking pemphigus.
• Rifampin – A phenolic antibiotic, rifampin has been shown to alter cytokine profiles and drug metabolism, possibly exacerbating pemphigus.
• Hydroxychloroquine – Although used in several autoimmune conditions, hydroxychloroquine has been anecdotally linked with pemphigus onset.
• Imiquimod – This immune response modifier can trigger cytokine release, which has been proposed as a mechanism for drug-induced pemphigus.
• Antihypertensive agents (e.g., lisinopril, irbesartan, hydrochlorothiazide, nifedipine) – These drugs alter immune function and cytokine production. Given the prevalence of hypertension in the pemphigus-susceptible population, their role highlights a clinical challenge in balancing comorbid management against drug-induced risks.
• Nivolumab – As an immune checkpoint inhibitor, it can provoke immune-related adverse events (irAEs), including triggering pemphigus.

The table below summarizes key drugs with elevated RORs for pemphigus based on the pharmacovigilance analysis:

Table 1. Summary of drugs with elevated risk signals for pemphigus from FAERS data.

This population-level evidence supports previous case reports and academic reviews indicating that a subset of drugs—especially those that modulate immune responses—are associated with an increased risk of inducing pemphigus in susceptible individuals.

5. Underlying Mechanisms of Drug-Induced Pemphigus

Although the precise pathogenesis of drug-induced pemphigus remains under investigation, several mechanisms have been proposed based on biochemical properties and immune interactions:

5.1 Direct Drug-Protein Interactions

Some drugs, particularly those with thiol groups (e.g., penicillamine, gold sodium thiomalate), can interact directly with epidermal cell surface proteins. This chemical modification may result in the formation of neoantigens and the disruption of normal desmosomal adhesion, triggering an autoimmune response.

5.2 Alteration of Cytokine Profiles

Drugs such as rifampin and imiquimod have been associated with alterations in cytokine production. Increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IFN-γ, IL-6, and TNF-α) can disturb the normal immune milieu, thereby contributing to the initiation or exacerbation of autoimmune responses directed against desmogleins.

5.3 Immunomodulatory Effects

Agents like hydroxychloroquine and nivolumab—despite being used to treat autoimmune diseases or as cancer immunotherapies—can paradoxically disrupt immune homeostasis. In predisposed individuals, these drugs may unmask latent autoimmunity by altering T-cell subsets, antigen presentation, or B-cell cytokine production. Notably, many antihypertensive drugs have indirect immunomodulatory actions that may tip the balance toward a pathogenic Th2 response, increasing the risk of antibody-mediated loss of cell adhesion in the epidermis.

5.4 Indirect Effects via Alteration of Drug Metabolism

Rifampin is known to induce the metabolism of co-administered drugs, such as glucocorticoids, potentially reducing their immunosuppressive efficacy and thereby allowing unmitigated immune responses that result in autoantibody formation.

Collectively, these mechanistic insights support a multifactorial model in which drug exposure, in the presence of a susceptible genetic background, may disrupt immune self-tolerance and lead to pemphigus onset.

6. Clinical Implications and Management Strategies

6.1 Recognizing Drug-Triggered Pemphigus

Clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion for drug-induced pemphigus in patients who develop blisters or erosions after initiating high-risk medications. Detailed medication history, including over-the-counter and complementary medications, is essential for proper diagnosis.

6.2 Monitoring and Early Detection

Given the potential latency between drug exposure and clinical manifestation, regular dermatologic evaluation and, where possible, immunologic testing (such as ELISA for anti-desmoglein autoantibodies) should be considered for patients on long-term therapy with implicated drugs.

6.3 Dose Adjustment and Drug Withdrawal

In patients who develop signs of pemphigus, early recognition and withdrawal of the culprit drug are paramount. In some cases, dose reduction or switching to an alternative agent with a lower risk profile may allow stabilization of the patient’s condition.

6.4 Multimodal Treatment Approaches

For patients with established pemphigus, treatment strategies include systemic immunosuppressive therapy, biologics such as rituximab, and supportive care aimed at reducing morbidity. The identification of drug-induced forms may lead to tailored immunosuppressive regimens where removal of the offending agent can result in clinical improvement.

7. Limitations and Future Directions

While the FAERS database provides valuable population-level insights, several inherent limitations must be acknowledged:

• Reporting Bias: The spontaneous nature of adverse event reporting can lead to underreporting or overreporting of certain drug-event combinations.
• Data Incompleteness: Missing data regarding dosages, patient demographics, and clinical context may limit the accuracy of disproportionality analyses.
• Lack of Direct Causality: Elevated reporting odds ratios do not confirm causation, and further prospective studies are necessary to validate these safety signals.
• Heterogeneity of Cases: The variable latency between drug exposure and disease onset complicates the assessment of temporal associations.

Future studies should focus on integrating multiple data sources—including electronic medical records, prospective registries, and molecular studies—to enhance our understanding of the interplay between genetic predisposition, drug exposure, and immune dysregulation in pemphigus. Additionally, mechanistic studies are required to elucidate how specific drugs alter cellular processes to trigger autoimmunity.

8. Conclusion

The interplay between drugs and the immune system is complex, and in the case of pemphigus, a subset of medications have emerged as triggers through mechanisms involving direct protein interaction, modulation of cytokine profiles, and alteration of immune homeostasis. Pharmacovigilance analysis using databases like FAERS has provided population-level evidence for this association, particularly among several thiol-containing, phenolic, and immunomodulatory drugs. Although limitations exist within the spontaneous reporting systems, the evidence underscores the need for careful drug selection and monitoring in genetically susceptible individuals. Clinicians must weigh the therapeutic benefits of these agents against the risk of adverse autoimmune events, and personalized management strategies remain the cornerstone of safe treatment.

FAQ

What is pemphigus and how is it clinically recognized?
Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disorder characterized by the production of autoantibodies against desmoglein proteins. Clinically, it presents with flaccid blisters and erosions on the skin and mucosal surfaces. Diagnosis is generally achieved via clinical assessment, histopathology, and detection of autoantibodies (e.g., anti-desmoglein1/3 ELISA).

How do drugs trigger or exacerbate pemphigus?
Drugs may trigger pemphigus by directly altering cell adhesion proteins through chemical interactions (especially thiol drugs), by forming neoantigens, and by shifting the cytokine milieu in a way that disrupts immune tolerance. Immunomodulatory agents may also inadvertently activate autoreactive lymphocytes.

Which classes of drugs have been most frequently reported to be linked with pemphigus?
The most commonly implicated drugs include thiol agents (penicillamine, gold sodium thiomalate), phenolic compounds (rifampin), non-thiol non-phenol agents (hydroxychloroquine, aspirin), and immunomodulatory agents (imiquimod, nivolumab), as well as several antihypertensives.

What is the significance of spontaneous adverse event reporting systems like FAERS in understanding these risks?
FAERS allows for disproportionality analyses that help identify statistically significant associations between specific drugs and adverse events, such as pemphigus. An elevated reporting odds ratio (ROR) suggests a potential safety signal and is useful for pharmacovigilance and post-marketing surveillance.

What clinical considerations should physicians keep in mind when prescribing high-risk medications?
Physicians should conduct thorough medication histories, consider genetic predispositions (e.g., HLA typing if available), monitor patients closely for skin or mucosal changes, and be prepared to adjust therapy or discontinue the suspected drug if signs of pemphigus appear.

This article provides an in-depth overview of the risks of drug-induced pemphigus based on pharmacovigilance data and current literature on its underlying mechanisms. For further reading and detailed evidence, please refer to the reference list below.

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