title: The search for new antigenic targets in myasthenia gravis.
abstract: Around 80% of myasthenia gravis patients have antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor, and 0-60% of the remaining patients have antibodies against the muscle-specific tyrosine kinase, MuSK. Another recently identified antigen is low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (Lrp4). To improve the existing assays and widen the search for new antigenic targets, we have employed cell-based assays in which candidate target proteins are expressed on the cell surface of transfected cells and probed with patient sera. These assays, combined with use of myotube cultures to explore the effects of the antibodies, enable us to begin to identify new antigenic targets and test antibody pathogenicity in vitro.
authors.affiliation: Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom. judith.cossins@imm.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cossins
authors.forename: Katsiaryna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belaya
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zoltowska
authors.forename: Inga
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koneczny
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maxwell
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: Maria Isabel
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Leite
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Waters
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Beeson
mesh_terms: D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000097:blood; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology*; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D026502:LDL-Receptor Related Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D009157:Myasthenia Gravis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology*; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000276:immunology; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D001324:Autoantigens; D026502:LDL-Receptor Related Proteins; C551781:LRP4 protein, human; D011950:Receptors, Cholinergic; C095714:MUSK protein, human; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases