title: IgG subclass distribution of ryanodine receptor autoantibodies in patients with myasthenia gravis and thymoma.
abstract: Patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and thymoma often have autoantibodies to the ryanodine receptor (RyR), a ligand-gated Ca(2+)-release channel in the sarcoplasmic reticulum of striated muscle. Using an ELISA, we studied the Ig isotype and IgG subclass distribution of RyR autoantibodies in sera from 30 MG patients with thymoma. RyR IgG antibodies were detected in 16/30 sera. 14/30 sera had IgG1 RyR antibodies, and 15/30 sera had IgG3 RyR antibodies. All sera with IgG1 RyR antibodies also contained IgG3 antibodies. A small number of sera had low amounts of IgG2, IgG4, IgA or IgM RyR antibodies. The RyR autoantibodies are therefore mainly expressed in the IgG1 and IgG3 subclasses. The RyR autoantibodies may be of pathogenic significance by interfering with the mechanism of excitation-contraction coupling in striated muscle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Bergen, Norway.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mygland
authors.forename: O B
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Tysnes
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Aarli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Matre
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Gilhus
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000276:immunology*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood*; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000097:blood; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000276:immunology; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel; D013945:Thymoma / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D015220:Calcium Channels; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel