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. 1988 Mar;81(3):657–660. doi: 10.1172/JCI113369

Amphipathic segment of the nicotinic receptor alpha subunit contains epitopes recognized by T lymphocytes in myasthenia gravis.

R Hohlfeld 1, K V Toyka 1, L L Miner 1, S L Walgrave 1, B M Conti-Tronconi 1
PMCID: PMC442511  PMID: 2449458

Abstract

Autoimmune helper T lymphocytes were selected from the blood of two myasthenic patients of different HLA-DR type, using acetylcholine receptor (AChR) from Torpedo californica. These polyclonal T cell lines were tested for reactivity with three synthetic peptides corresponding to the NH2-terminal region of the human AChR alpha subunit. This segment is a good candidate for T cell epitopes since it has a propensity to form an amphipathic alpha helix. The peptides elicited 10-30% of the response induced by native Torpedo AChR. Different peptides were recognized by the autoreactive T cells of the two patients. These results suggest that the NH2-terminal region of the AChR alpha chain contains T cell-stimulating epitopes, and that the T cell autoimmune response in myasthenia gravis, like the B cell response, is heterogeneous.

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Selected References

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

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