Pathogenetic Significance of Fetal-Type Acetylcholine Receptors on Thymic Myoid Cells in Myasthenia Gravis

An acetylcholine receptor alpha subunit promoter confers intrathymic expression in transgenic mice. Implications for tolerance of a transgenic self-antigen and for autoreactivity in myasthenia gravis.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease targeting the skeletal muscle acetylcholine receptor (AChR). Although the autoantigen is present in the thymus, it is not tolerated in MG patients. In addition, the nature of the cell bearing the autoantigen is controversial. To approach these questions, we used two lineages of transgenic mice in which the beta-galactosidase (beta-gal) gene is und...

IgG1 antibodies to acetylcholine receptors in ‘seronegative’ myasthenia gravis†

Only around 80% of patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) have serum antibodies to acetylcholine receptor [AChR; acetylcholine receptor antibody positive myasthenia gravis (AChR-MG)] by the radioimmunoprecipitation assay used worldwide. Antibodies to muscle specific kinase [MuSK; MuSK antibody positive myasthenia gravis (MuSK-MG)] make up a variable proportion of the remaining 20%. Th...

Familial autoimmune myasthenia gravis with different pathogenetic antibodies.

Two cases of familial myasthenia gravis are reported. One patient is a typical case of autoimmune myasthenia with positive anti acetylcholine receptor antibodies, while in the second patient the impairment of neuromuscular transmission is likely to be due to antibodies directed against determinants other than the acetylcholine receptors.

Myasthenia Gravis Responding to Acetylcholine Receptor in Cells in Thymic Germinal Centers Somatic Hypermutation and Selection of B

Spontaneous production of anti-IFN-alpha and anti-IL-12 autoantibodies by thymoma cells from myasthenia gravis patients suggests autoimmunization in the tumor.

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is mediated by autoantibodies to the acetylcholine receptor (AChR), expressed in muscle and rare thymic myoid cells. Most early-onset cases show thymic lymph node-type infiltrates, including pre-activated plasma cells spontaneously producing anti-AChR antibodies. Since these are not evident in the associated thymomas found in another 10% of MG patients, AChR-specific B ce...