Selective loss of regulatory T cells in thymomas.
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the prime autoimmune manifestation of thymomas. We investigated the generation of T cells with a regulatory phenotype (T(R)) in thymomas with and without associated MG. In patients with MG(+) thymomas, maturation and export of T(R) cells but not of other T-cell subsets was significantly reduced. We conclude that imbalance between effector and regulatory T cells in thymomas may be involved in modulation of onset and/or severity of MG.
Ströbel
Philipp
P
Institute of Pathology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany. philipp.stroebel@mail.uni-wuerzberg.de
Rosenwald
Andreas
A
Beyersdorf
Niklas
N
Kerkau
Thomas
T
Elert
Olaf
O
Murumägi
Astrid
A
Sillanpää
Niko
N
Peterson
Pärt
P
Hummel
Vera
V
Rieckmann
Peter
P
Burek
Christof
C
Schalke
Berthold
B
Nix
Wilfred
W
Kiefer
Reinhard
R
Müller-Hermelink
Hans Konrad
HK
Marx
Alexander
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016923:Cell Death / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017637:Clonal Deletion; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D013945:Thymoma / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology*