IgG subclass distribution of myasthenia gravis thymoma-associated antiskeletal muscle antibodies.
Myasthenia gravis patients with thymoma often have serum antibodies directed against human skeletal muscle. We have developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to investigate the subclass distribution of these antibodies. Five thymoma patients all had IgG4 antibodies, whereas a patient who developed myasthenia gravis after bone-marrow transplantation had only IgG1 antibodies. The data suggest that IgG1 is the first subclass to appear in the autoantibody response against skeletal muscle.
D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000032:analysis*; D009132:Muscles / Q000276:immunology; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000276:immunology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000276:immunology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology*
D001323:Autoantibodies; D007074:Immunoglobulin G