Lack of association between acetylcholine receptor epsilon polymorphisms and early-onset myasthenia gravis.
A patient with mutations in the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) epsilon subunit, who subsequently developed autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG), led us to search for epsilon AChR mutations and polymorphisms in 167 patients with early-onset MG. No epsilon-subunit mutations or increased incidence of exonic epsilon-subunit polymorphisms were found. The allelic frequency of the intron polymorphism IVS11+ 20del20 was more prevalent in non-United Kingdom subjects, both patients and healthy individuals, than in United Kingdom subjects (15.8 vs. 6.2%, P = 0.0008) but not between MG patients and healthy individuals. These data provide no evidence that heteroallelic mutations or polymorphisms in the AChR epsilon subunit are involved in the development of autoimmune early-onset MG but raise issues for future studies.
Neurosciences Group, Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DS, United Kingdom.
Domenico Marco
DM
Bonifati
Nick
N
Willcox
Angela
A
Vincent
David
D
Beeson
D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005820:Genetic Testing; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009469:Neuromuscular Junction / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000235:genetics; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000235:genetics*; D006113:United Kingdom
D021122:Protein Subunits; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic