The most surprising finding in this study was the observation that in addition to the fact that DSG-positive B cells are still detectable after rituximab treatment, arguing against a simple deletion mechanism, the gene expression profile of DSG-positive autoreactive B cells collected after rituximab treatment in patients in complete remission was actually pretty close to that of DSG-positive B cells collected at baseline in patients with active pemphigus, except for the IL-1β and the CD27 genes, which were downregulated after rituximab compared to baseline. This evidence concerns the gene IL1B and pemphigus.