Skip to main content
PMC home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1967 Jan;2(1):93–101.

Autoimmunity in myasthenia gravis: a family study

R Wright, J H Kerr
PMCID: PMC1578810  PMID: 5298404

Abstract

The prevalence of autoantibodies to muscle, epithelial cells of calf thymus, thyroid, gastric parietal cells and antinuclear and rheumatoid factors has been studied in the sera of thirty-two patients with myasthenia gravis and their relatives.

Previous reports of an increased prevalence of autoantibodies in the sera of patients with myasthenia gravis have been confirmed and it has been shown that concurrent reactivity to muscle and thymus is closely correlated with the severity of the myasthenia and the presence of a thymoma, whereas no such correlation occurred with the other antibodies studied. None of the sera from relatives or spouses showed concurrent reactivity with thymus and muscle, and with the exception of one patient with pernicious anaemia, sera from patients with a variety of other diseases were also negative.

A slight increase in the prevalence of autoantibodies to thyroid and gastric components and antinuclear factor was found in first degree relatives of patients with myasthenia gravis; this could be accounted for by their aggregation in a few families.

Full text

PDF
101

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BEUTNER E. H., WITEBSKY E., RICKEN D., ADLER R. H. Studies on autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis. JAMA. 1962 Oct 6;182:46–58. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Beutner E. H., Holborow E. J., Johnson G. D. A new fluorescent antibody method: mixed antiglobulin immunofluorescence or labelled antigen indirect immunofluorescence staining. Nature. 1965 Oct 23;208(5008):353–355. doi: 10.1038/208353a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Downes J. M., Greenwood B. M., Wray S. H. Auto-immune aspects of myasthenia gravis. Q J Med. 1966 Jan;35(137):85–105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. FELTKAMP T. E., van der GELD, KRUYFF K., OOSTERHUIS H. J. Antinuclear factor in myasthenia gravis. Lancet. 1963 Mar 23;1(7282):667–667. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(63)91302-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FULTHORPE A. J., ROITT I. M., DONIACH D., COUCHMAN K. A stable sheep cell preparation for detecing thyroglobulin auto-antibodies and its clinical applications. J Clin Pathol. 1961 Nov;14:654–660. doi: 10.1136/jcp.14.6.654. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GORDON S. V., HESS J. W., FREDERICK R. J. MYASTHENIA GRAVIS: STUDIES ON IN VIVO BINDING OF GAMMA-GLOBULIN TO MUSCLE. Arch Intern Med. 1965 Apr;115:405–410. doi: 10.1001/archinte.1965.03860160031005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. GUNN A., MICHIE W., IRVINE W. J. THE THYMUS IN THYROID DISEASE. Lancet. 1964 Oct 10;2(7363):776–778. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(64)90558-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HOLBOROW E. J., BROWN P. C., ROITT I. M., DONIACH D. Cytoplasmic localization of "complement-fixing" auto-antigen in human thyroid epithelium. Br J Exp Pathol. 1959 Dec;40:583–588. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Henry K. Mucin secretion and striated muscle in the human thymus. Lancet. 1966 Jan 22;1(7430):183–185. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(66)90703-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. IRVINE W. J., SUMERLING M. D. RADIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE THYMUS IN THYROID AND OTHER DISEASES. Lancet. 1965 May 8;1(7393):996–999. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(65)91221-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MACKAY I. R., DEGAIL P. THYMIC "GERMINAL CENTRES" AND PLASMA CELLS IN SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS. Lancet. 1963 Sep 28;2(7309):667–667. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(63)90458-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. MARSHALL A. H., WHITE R. G. Experimental thymic lesions resembling those of myasthenia gravis. Lancet. 1961 May 13;1(7185):1030–1031. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(61)91834-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. NASTUK W. L., PLESCIA O. J., OSSERMAN K. E. Changes in serum complement activity in patients with myasthenia gravis. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1960 Oct;105:177–184. doi: 10.3181/00379727-105-26050. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Osserman K. E., Weiner L. B. Studies in myasthenia gravis: immunofluorescent tagging of muscle striation with antibody from serums of 256 myasthenic patients. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1965 Jun 30;124(2):730–743. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1965.tb18998.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. REAVES L. E., 3rd ALTERED IMMUNOLOGIC MECHANISMS IN DISEASES OF UNKNOWN CAUSE. REPORT OF MYASTHENIA GRAVIS, PERNICIOUS ANEMIA, AND MYXEDEMA OCCURRING IN THE SAME PATIENT. Geriatrics. 1965 Sep;20:707–714. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. SIMPSON J. A. IMMUNOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS WITH A REPORT OF HASHIMOTO'S DISEASE DEVELOPING AFTER THYMECTOMY. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 1964 Dec;27:485–492. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.27.6.485. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Singer W., Sahay B. M. Myasthenia gravis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and pernicious anaemia. Br Med J. 1966 Apr 9;1(5492):904–904. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5492.904. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Strauss A. J., Kemp P. G., Douglas S. D. Myasthenia gravis. Lancet. 1966 Apr 2;1(7440):772–773. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(66)90931-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. TAYLOR K. B., ROITT I. M., DONIACH D., COUCHMAN K. G., SHAPLAND C. Autoimmune phenomena in pernicious anaemia: gastric antibodies. Br Med J. 1962 Nov 24;2(5316):1347–1352. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5316.1347. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. VAN DER GELD H., FELTKAMP T. E., OOSTERHUIS H. J. REACTIVITY OF MYASTHENIA GRAVIS SERUM GAMMA-GLOBULIN WITH SKELETAL MUSCLE AND THYMUS DEMONSTRATED BY IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1964 Mar;115:782–785. doi: 10.3181/00379727-115-29037. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. VAN DER GELD H., FELTKAMP T. E., VAN LOGHEM J., OOSTERHUIS H. J., BIEMOND A. MULTIPLE ANTIBODY PRODUCTION IN MYASTHENIA GRAVIS. Lancet. 1963 Aug 24;2(7304):373–375. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(63)93055-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. WHITE R. G., MARSHALL A. H. The autoimmune response in myasthenia gravis. Lancet. 1962 Jul 21;2(7247):120–123. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(62)90005-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wright R., Truelove S. C. Auto-immune reactions in ulcerative colitis. Gut. 1966 Feb;7(1):32–40. doi: 10.1136/gut.7.1.32. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Wright R., Whitehead R., Wangel A. G., Salem S. N., Schiller K. F. [Autoantibodies and microscopic appearance of gastric mucosa]. Lancet. 1966 Mar 19;1(7438):618–621. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(66)90821-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. van der Geld H. W., Strauss A. J. Myasthenia gravis. Immunological relationship between striated muscle and thymus. Lancet. 1966 Jan 8;1(7428):57–60. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(66)92356-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. van der Geld H., Oosterhuis H. J. Autoantibodies and myasthenia gravis: epithelial cells of the thymus. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1966 Jan 26;135(1):631–637. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb45509.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES