title: Recent approaches to the development of antigen-specific immunotherapies for myasthenia gravis.
abstract: Acquired autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG) is the most common disease that affects the neuromuscular junction (NMJ). MG is associated with autoantibodies (auto-Abs) to components of the NMJ. About 85-90% of MG patients have auto-Abs against the muscle nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR), while about half of the remaining patients have auto-Abs against muscle-specific kinase. Auto-Abs, in combination with local deposition of complement, reduce the number of available post-synaptic nicotinic AChRs and thereby impair neuromuscular transmission. Current medications for MG are non-specific and include acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, immunosuppressants, plasma exchange, intravenous Ig administration and thymectomy. Treatments that selectively target the anti-AChR auto-Abs may prove to be more effective and free of side-effects. We here review two approaches aimed at the development of antigen-specific therapies for MG. The first is specific apheresis of Abs from patients' sera using immobilised recombinant AChR domains as immunoadsorbents. Indeed, we have recently shown that the combined recombinant extracellular domains of all human AChR subunits are capable of specifically immunoadsorbing the majority of pathogenic auto-Abs from several MG sera. The second therapeutic approach is the development of non-pathogenic anti-AChR monoclonal Abs that could potentially be used as protective agents by blocking the binding of patients' auto-Abs to the AChR.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, GR 11521 Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lagoumintzis
authors.forename: Paraskevi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zisimopoulou
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kordas
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lazaridis
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Poulas
authors.forename: Socrates J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tzartos
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D001781:Blood Component Removal; D006801:Humans; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D007164:Immunosorbents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D010951:Plasma Exchange; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000276:immunology; D035703:Therapies, Investigational; D013934:Thymectomy
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D016756:Immunoglobulins, Intravenous; D007164:Immunosorbents; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic