Thymomatous epithelial cells and skeletal muscle share a common epitope defined by a monoclonal antibody.
Monoclonal antibodies have been raised against thymomatous epithelial cells with the use of fragments of a human thymoma as source of antigen. These monoclonals, which do not react with cultured epithelial cells or sections from normal thymus (except for some cells of Hassall's corpuscles), label a large number of cells in thymoma sections. In addition, they recognize cross-striations from skeletal muscle cells. Immunoblotting studies reveal that the proteins recognized on thymoma and muscle are in the same molecular weight range, suggesting that these proteins, which share a common epitope, are identical. These findings indicate that the production of circulating anti-cross-striational autoantibodies observed in most patients with thymoma could derive from immunization against a protein abnormally expressed by neoplastic epithelial cells.
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001666:Binding Sites, Antibody; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004848:Epithelium / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D006801:Humans; D007120:Immunochemistry; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009132:Muscles / Q000276:immunology*; D011506:Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D013945:Thymoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000939:Epitopes; D011506:Proteins