title: Thymus and myasthenia gravis: antigen processing in the human thymus and the consequences for the generation of autoreactive T cells.
abstract: Peptides displayed by antigen presenting cells in the thymus shape the T cell repertoire. We investigated the antigen processing machinery of the MHC class II presentation pathway and describe the differential expression of lysosomal proteases in compartments of the thymus and the peripheral lymphoid tissue. Overexpression of certain proteases found in the thymus and thymoma associated with myasthenia gravis is likely to affect tolerance induction and may promote the generation autoreactive CD4(+) T helper cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Neurology and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Tübingen University Medical Center, Tübingen, Germany. arthur.melms@uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Melms
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luther
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stoeckle
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pöschel
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schroth
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Varga
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wienhold
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tolosa
mesh_terms: D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000378:metabolism; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000201:enzymology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D002403:Cathepsins; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; C117627:CTSV protein, human