title: Antiacetylcholine receptor antibody and its relationship to HLA type in asymptomatic siblings of a patient with myasthenia gravis.
abstract: Antibodies to acetylcholine receptors (AChR-ab) were detected in a patient with myasthenia gravis (MG) and at much lower levels in her asymptomatic fraternal twin and one other asymptomatic sibling. These three carried the HLA-B8 allele, as did four other family members. In a previous study, we observed no AChR-ab in 175 non-MG patients. The occurrence of AChR-ab in 3 of 12 siblings suggests that all were affected by an unidentified pathologic factor acting on a favorable genetic background.
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology*; D014429:Twins, Dizygotic
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D006680:HLA Antigens; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic