Antibody-induced degradation of acetylcholine receptor in myasthenia gravis: clinical correlates and pathogenetic significance.
Sera of myasthenic patients containing anti-AChR antibodies increase the rate of degradation of mammalian AChR. This phenomenon, antigenic modulation (AMd), was tested on AChR of rat myotubes in serum from 48 myasthenic patients. Sixty-six percent of the sera increased AChR degradation. AMd activity was higher in more severely affected patients, paralleled clinical evolution in individual patients, and was related to AChR-antibody titer. Steroid treatment and thymectomy did not affect AMd activity. Patients who had a thymoma always had greater AMd activity.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D013945:Thymoma / Q000150:complications; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000150:complications
D000906:Antibodies; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic