The Thymus in Myasthenia Gravis
- 12 December 1974
- journal article
- Published by Massachusetts Medical Society in New England Journal of Medicine
- Vol. 291 (24), 1271-1275
- https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm197412122912403
Abstract
Comparisons of several types of immunologic reactivity were made in thymic cells from six patients with myasthenia gravis and thymic hyperplasia, four patients with myasthenia gravis and thymoma and six age-matched control cardiac-surgery patients. In mixed leukocyte reactions, thymic cells from the subjects with hyperplasia were capable of stimulating autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes. Such reactivity was not seen in thymocyte-blood lymphocyte mixtures from the other two groups. There was an increased number of B cells in the thymic-cell populations from the myasthenic patients as compared to that in the control group, carrying predominantly IgM receptors. The thymic cells from myasthenic patients also responded more vigorously to pokeweed mitogen. These findings suggest altered populations of lymphoid cells in the thymus of myasthenic patients that react with autologous lymphocytes from other cell compartments. The pathogenic implications of these findings remain to be determined. (N Engl J Med 291:1271–1275, 1974)Keywords
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Immunoglobulin on activated T cells detected by indirect immunofluorescenceCellular Immunology, 1974
- In vitro peripheral blood and synovial fluid lymphocyte interactionsArthritis & Rheumatism, 1974
- Comparative Study of Bone Marrow and Blood B Cells in Infantile and Acquired AgammaglobulinemiaJCI Insight, 1973
- Relative T‐Cell Specificity of Lymphocytotoxins from Patients with Systemic Lupus ErythematosusArthritis & Rheumatism, 1973
- SURFACE MARKERS ON HUMAN T AND B LYMPHOCYTESThe Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1972
- Studies in myasthenia gravis: Effects of thymectomy: Results on 185 patients with nonthymomatous and thymomatous myasthenia gravis, 1941–1969American Journal Of Medicine, 1971
- EXPERIMENTAL AUTOIMMUNE THYMITIS AN ANIMAL MODEL OF HUMAN MYASTHENIA GRAVISThe Lancet, 1966
- One-Way Stimulation in Mixed Leukocyte CulturesScience, 1966
- MYASTHENIA GRAVIS IMMUNOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRIATED MUSCLE AND THYMUSThe Lancet, 1966
- THE PATHOLOGY OF THE THYMUS GLAND IN MYASTHENIA GRAVISAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1966