Table 1.
Demographic, clinical, serological characteristics and MGFA classification of individual participants
| Participant (Group-number) | Sex | Age | Naïve | UM | SM | DN | MGFA | Disease duration (months) | AchR-Ab titer (nmol/L) | Thymoma or thymic hyperplasia | Used in Nanostring analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | F | 71 | 65.6 | 5.4 | 23.5 | 5.5 | CSR | 10 | 4.9 | Yes | Yes |
| 1-2 | M | 59 | 64.2 | 4.3 | 26.4 | 5.2 | CSR | 23 | 9.77 | Yes | Yes |
| 1-3 | M | 65 | 93.1 | 2.1 | 3.6 | 1.2 | CSR | 8 | 9 | Yes | No |
| 1-4 | F | 48 | 81.8 | 5.2 | 9.5 | 3.5 | CSR | 6.5 | 18 | No | No |
| 1-5 | M | 69 | 78.1 | 4.3 | 14.9 | 2.7 | CSR | 23 | 3.85 | Yes | Yes |
| 1-6 | F | 85 | 53.9 | 9.4 | 24.3 | 12.4 | CSR | 11 | 0.23 | No | No |
| 1-7 | M | 36 | 71.5 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 4.5 | CSR | 5 | 0.67 | No | No |
| 1-8 | M | 75 | 83.7 | 5.1 | 7.5 | 3.7 | CSR | 5 | 4.04 | No | No |
| 2-1 | M | 43 | 66.8 | 7.2 | 17.1 | 9.0 | PR | 8 | (−) | No | No |
| 2-2 | M | 80 | 84.4 | 4.2 | 8.2 | 3.2 | PR | 2 | 0.76 | No | No |
| 2-3 | F | 41 | 66.5 | 4.4 | 20.3 | 8.8 | PR | 21 | 0.24 | No | No |
| 2-4 | M | 62 | 63.7 | 8.3 | 23.0 | 5.0 | PR | 6 | (−) | No | No |
| 2-5 | F | 80 | 21.2 | 5.2 | 46.7 | 26.9 | PR | 5 | 7.88 | No | No |
| 2-6 | F | 45 | 55.6 | 11.7 | 25.0 | 7.7 | PR | 1.5 | 11.87 | Yes | No |
| 2-7 | M | 60 | 40.4 | 6.2 | 25.7 | 27.7 | PR | 3.5 | 7.09 | Yes | No |
| 2-8 | F | 42 | 82.3 | 2.4 | 12.3 | 3.0 | MM | 1 | 16.05 | No | Yes |
| 2-9 | M | 72 | 30.4 | 6.1 | 38.9 | 24.5 | MM | 12 | 17.65 | No | Yes |
| 2-10 | F | 56 | 57.3 | 2.0 | 23.8 | 16.9 | MM | 0.5 | 6.36 | Yes | Yes |
| 2-11 | F | 79 | 82.2 | 2.6 | 12.7 | 2.5 | PR | 3 | 1.91 | No | No |
| 2-12 | M | 77 | 28.5 | 8.4 | 42.0 | 21.1 | PR | 4 | 7.44 | No | No |
| 2-13 | M | 50 | 56.9 | 2.5 | 24.8 | 15.7 | PR | 11 | 4.66 | Yes | No |
| 3-1 | M | 54 | 47.1 | 6.2 | 40.2 | 6.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| 3-2 | F | 67 | 78.8 | 5.6 | 12.4 | 3.2 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 3-3 | F | 69 | 88.0 | 3.2 | 5.1 | 3.8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 3-4 | F | 78 | 84.3 | 2.7 | 9.6 | 3.4 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 3-5 | F | 61 | 86.2 | 1.9 | 7.3 | 4.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 3-6 | M | 53 | 61.7 | 9.2 | 20.3 | 8.9 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 3-7 | M | 54 | 69.5 | 4.5 | 21.7 | 4.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 3-8 | M | 60 | 60.3 | 6.0 | 30.4 | 3.3 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| 3-9 | M | 67 | 42.5 | 9.3 | 42.5 | 5.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes |
| 3-10 | F | 70 | 76.0 | 3.5 | 13.0 | 7.6 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | No |
| 4-1 | F | 67 | 59.8 | 7.3 | 20.4 | 12.5 | V | 0.5 | 6.7 | Yes | Yes |
| 4-2 | F | 46 | 74.9 | 6.8 | 13.0 | 5.3 | IIa | 10 | 9.76 | No | Yes |
| 4-3 | M | 46 | 72.3 | 4.5 | 17.5 | 5.7 | IIb | 3.5 | 2.45 | Yes | Yes |
Every peripheral blood sample was analyzed by flow cytometry for B cell immunophenotyping. Memory B cells sorted from 3 patients per group were gathered into each pool and were submitted for Nanostring assay. UM, unswitched memory B cells; SM, switched memory B cells; DN, double-negative B cells; MGFA, Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America; AchR-Ab, anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody; F, female; M, male; CSR, chronic stable remission; PR, pharmacologic remission; MM, minimal manifestation; N/A, not applicable.