1. Complementary strategies to elucidate T helper cell epitopes in myasthenia gravis.
- Author
-
Jung C, Stoeckle C, Wiesmüller KH, Laub R, Emmrich F, Jung G, and Melms A
- Subjects
- Amino Acid Sequence, Animals, Apolipoprotein B-100 pharmacology, CD4 Antigens genetics, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, HLA-DR3 Antigen genetics, Humans, Mice, Mice, Transgenic, Myasthenia Gravis blood, Peptide Fragments immunology, Protein Binding drug effects, Receptors, Nicotinic immunology, Receptors, Nicotinic metabolism, Epitope Mapping, Epitopes physiology, Myasthenia Gravis pathology, Receptors, Nicotinic chemistry, T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer immunology
- Abstract
CD4(+) T cells specific for the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) are assumed to play an important role in pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG). A large and diverse number of potential T cell epitopes have been reported for different experimental setups aiming at the identification of disease-relevant T cells in MG. Investigating the T cell response to the epsilon subunit of human AChR, we explore complementary in vitro and in vivo approaches (PBMC from MG patients and mice transgenic for HLA-DR3 and human CD4) to address the possibilities and limitations of different strategies for elucidating natural autoimmune T cell epitopes.
- Published
- 2008
- Full Text
- View/download PDF