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The thymus prevents autoimmune diseases through mechanisms that operate in the cortex and medulla, comprising positive and negative selection and the generation of regulatory T-cells (Tregs). Egress from the thymus through the perivascular space (PVS) to the blood is another possible checkpoint, as shown by some autoimmune/immunodeficiency syndromes. In polygenic autoimmune diseases, subtle thymic dysfunctions may compound genetic, hormonal and environmental cues. Here, we cover (a) tolerance-inducing cell types, whether thymic epithelial or tuft cells, or dendritic, B- or thymic myoid cells; (b) tolerance-inducing mechanisms and their failure in relation to thymic anatomic compartments, and with special emphasis on human monogenic and polygenic autoimmune diseases and the related thymic pathologies, if known; (c) polymorphisms and mutations of tolerance-related genes with an impact on positive selection (e.g. the gene encoding the thymoproteasome-specific subunit, PSMB11), promiscuous gene expression (e.g. AIRE, PRKDC, FEZF2, CHD4), Treg development (e.g. SATB1, FOXP3), T-cell migration (e.g. TAGAP) and egress from the thymus (e.g. MTS1, CORO1A); (d) myasthenia gravis as the prototypic outcome of an inflamed or disordered neoplastic ‘sick thymus’.

Autoimmune associations in myasthenia gravis (MG)-patients and their relatives have not been re-assessed since their separation into early- or late-onset MG (EOMG, LOMG), or thymoma-associated MG. Here, we analysed 226 EOMG-, 97 LOMG-, and 150 thymoma-patients for autoimmune disorders in themselves and their relatives. From 283 of them sera were tested for different organ- and non-organ-specific autoantibodies (autoAbs) by immunofluorescence test (IFT) and ELISA; genotyping was performed in 213 patients. Relatives with autoimmune disorders were reported by more patients with EOMG (40% of 210) than LOMG (20% of 89; p0.01) than thymomas (8% of 150; p0.001). In 150 genotyped EOMG-females, the known risk allele of the immuno-regulatory PTPN2 2 (R620W) appeared commoner in those with second autoimmune diseases (p ∼ 0.06), or with autoimmune relatives (p ∼ 0.03), than in those without. Organ-specific autoAbs were found in ∼ 30% of all MG-patients, autoAbs to striated muscle only in patients with thymoma-MG (62%) or LOMG (61%). Titers against adrenal cortex were lower in LOMG-patients. Disease-associated autoAbs against systemic targets or 'natural autoAbs' - except of autoAbs to nuclei - were uncommon in all groups (13%). Thus-with rare exceptions in EOMG and LOMG-we found minimal support for the notion that autoimmune patients have wide-ranging autoreactivity that causes disease only if it targets such Achilles' heels as the muscle acetylcholine receptor; even in thymoma-patients the autoAbs are sharply focused on a restricted range of muscle, cytokine and endocrine targets.

Murine models for human autoimmune diseases are an essential tool for studying pathogenesis and for identifying new therapeutic targets. Mice are not the natural disease host, and conventional models have proved to be poor predictors of efficacy and safety in recent trials aiming to translate drug and biologic treatments to humans. Evidently, further steps towards recapitulating human diseases are urgently needed, for example using transgenic predisposing human HLA allele(s) plus T-cell receptor(s) implicated in a representative patient's autoimmune disease. The latest development - humanizing most of the immune system by transplanting human hematopoietic stem cells into severely immunodeficient mice - should lead to even better modeling.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with certain HLA-DR4 subtypes. The target autoantigen(s) is unknown, but type II collagen (CII) is a candidate, with a single immunodominant DR4-restricted 261–273 T cell epitope (CII(261–273)). In the present study, we have prepared HLA-DR4:CII(261–273) tetramers and analyzed peripheral blood, lymph node, and synovial fluid cells from DR4-transgenic mice with early and late collagen-induced arthritis to draw a fuller picture of the role of CII-reactive Th cells in disease development. Their frequencies increased ∼20-fold in blood 1–2 wk postimmunization, and even more in acutely arthritic joints. Our data strongly suggest that CII-specific Th cells are necessary, but not sufficient for collagen-induced arthritis. The CII-specific Th cells displayed an activated proinflammatory Th1 phenotype, and their expansion correlated with onset and severity of arthritis and also with anti-CII Ab levels. Surprisingly, shortly after the first clinical signs of arthritis, activated HLA-DR4:CII tetramer+ cells became undetectable in the synovial fluid and rare in the blood, but persisted in lymph nodes. Consequently, future human studies should focus on patients with early arthritis, and on their synovial cells, to re-evaluate the occurrence and pathogenic importance of CII-specific or other Th cells in rheumatoid arthritis.

Much has been learnt about the mechanisms of thymic self-tolerance induction from work on both the rare autosomal recessive disease autoimmune polyendocrinopathy candidiasis ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) and the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) protein mutated in this disease. Normally, AIRE drives low-level expression of huge numbers of peripheral tissue-specific antigens (TSAgs) in medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs), leading to the deletion of TSAg-reactive thymocytes maturing nearby. The very recently discovered neutralizing autoantibodies (autoAbs) against Th17-related cells and cytokines in two autoimmunity-related syndromes associated with AIRE-mutant thymi or AIRE-deficient thymomas help to explain the chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) seen in both syndromes. The surprising parallels between these syndromes also demand new hypotheses and research into the consequences of AIRE deficiency and the ensuing autoimmunizing pathways, and suggest more appropriate treatment regimens as discussed in this review.

CD248 (endosialin) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is dynamically expressed on pericytes and fibroblasts during tissue development, tumour neovascularization and inflammation. Its role in tissue remodelling is associated with increased stromal cell proliferation and migration. We show that CD248 is also uniquely expressed by human, but not mouse (C57BL/6), CD8(+) naive T cells. CD248 is found only on CD8(+) CCR7(+) CD11a(low) naive T cells and on CD8 single-positive T cells in the thymus. Transfection of the CD248 negative T-cell line MOLT-4 with CD248 cDNA surprisingly reduced cell proliferation. Knock-down of CD248 on naive CD8 T cells increased cell proliferation. These data demonstrate opposing functions for CD248 on haematopoietic (CD8(+)) versus stromal cells and suggests that CD248 helps to maintain naive CD8(+) human T cells in a quiescent state.

Paraneoplastic autoimmune diseases associate occasionally with small cell lung cancers and gynecologic tumors. However, myasthenia gravis (MG) occurs in at least 30% of all patients with thymomas (usually present at MG diagnosis). These epithelial neoplasms almost always have numerous admixed maturing polyclonal T cells (thymocytes). This thymopoiesis-and export of mature CD4(+)T cells-particularly associates with MG, though there are rare/puzzling exceptions in apparently pure epithelial WHO type A thymomas. Other features potentially leading to inefficient self-tolerance induction include defective epithelial expression of the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene and/or of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules in thymomas, absence of myoid cells, failure to generate FOXP3(+) regulatory T cells, and genetic polymorphisms affecting T-cell signaling. However, the strong focus on MG/neuromuscular targets remains unexplained and suggests some biased autoantigen expression, T-cell selection, or autoimmunization within thymomas. There must be further clues in the intriguing serological and cellular parallels in some patients with late-onset MG but without thymomas-and in others with AIRE mutations-and in the contrasts with early-onset MG, as discussed here.

Chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) is frequently associated with T cell immunodeficiencies. Specifically, the proinflammatory IL-17A–producing Th17 subset is implicated in protection against fungi at epithelial surfaces. In autoimmune polyendocrinopathy candidiasis ectodermal dystrophy (APECED, or autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome 1), CMC is often the first sign, but the underlying immunodeficiency is a long-standing puzzle. In contrast, the subsequent endocrine features are clearly autoimmune, resulting from defects in thymic self-tolerance induction caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE). We report severely reduced IL-17F and IL-22 responses to both Candida albicans antigens and polyclonal stimulation in APECED patients with CMC. Surprisingly, these reductions are strongly associated with neutralizing autoantibodies to IL-17F and IL-22, whereas responses were normal and autoantibodies infrequent in APECED patients without CMC. Our multicenter survey revealed neutralizing autoantibodies against IL-17A (41%), IL-17F (75%), and/ or IL-22 (91%) in >150 APECED patients, especially those with CMC. We independently found autoantibodies against these Th17-produced cytokines in rare thymoma patients with CMC. The autoantibodies preceded the CMC in all informative cases. We conclude that IL-22 and IL-17F are key natural defenders against CMC and that the immunodeficiency underlying CMC in both patient groups has an autoimmune basis.

Little is known about pathogenesis -- and especially about involvement of CD8(+) T-cells -- in late-onset myasthenia gravis (LOMG). Remarkably, outstanding CD8(+) TCRVbeta-subset expansions were found in 64% and 72% of recent onset LOMG or thymoma-associated MG (vs. 16% with early-onset MG (p

Maternal alloantibodies against the human platelet Ag (HPA)-1a allotype of the platelet β3 integrin GpIIb/IIIa can cause severe fetal or neonatal hemorrhage. Almost all anti-HPA-1a-immune mothers are homozygous for HPA-1b and carry HLA-DR52a (DRB3*0101). The single Pro33 →Leu substitution (HPA-1b→HPA-1a) was previously predicted to create a binding motif for HLA-DR52a that can lead to alloimmunization. We have isolated six CD4+ T cell clones from three such mothers, which all respond to intact HPA-1a+, but not HPA-1b+, platelets. We used them to define the “core” and “anchor” residues of this natural T cell epitope. Molecular modeling based on a recently published crystal structure can explain the preferential presentation of the Leu33 (but not Pro33 variant) by HLA-DR52a rather than the linked HLA-DR3 or the allelic DR52b. The modeling also predicts efficient anchoring at position 33 by several alternative hydrophobic α-amino acids; indeed, a recently identified variant with Val33 is presented well to two clones, and is therefore potentially alloimmunogenic. Finally, these HPA-1a-specific T cell clones use a variety of T cell receptors, but all have a “Th1” (IFN-γ-producing) profile and are suitable for testing selective immunotherapies that might be applicable in vivo.

In early-onset myasthenia gravis (EOMG), the thymus is colonized by lymph node-like infiltrates including T cell areas and germinal centers. Our Group(1) showed (1978) spontaneous anti-acetylcholine receptor (AChR) autoantibody production by EOMG thymic cells. Especially after enzymic dispersal, these are enriched in plasma cells that are evidently autonomous, long-lived, terminally differentiated and radio-resistant. Radiolabeled AChR is highly sensitive both for localizing them in situ and detecting their ongoing antibody production in culture at limiting cell numbers. Thus EOMG thymi are a readily available source of specific autoimmune human plasma cells suitable for studying their biology and testing new therapies.

Summary In sporadic autoimmune disorders, dendritic cells are increasingly being incriminated as agents provocateurs. However, the mechanisms and any ‘danger signals’ that induce them to autoimmunize remain enigmatic. Here, we focus on unexpected clues from two prototypic/ highly informative autoimmune syndromes, acquired thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis and the monogenic autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type-1 (APS1), caused by mutations in the AutoImmune Regulator (AIRE). Both involve the thymus, and in both we find early, persistent, highly prevalent and high-titre neutralizing autoantibodies against type-I interferons, regardless of the exact AIRE genotype or the characteristically variable clinical phenotype in APS1. Thus these key innate↔adaptive immune intermediaries are now implicated in APS1 and paraneoplastic myasthenia as well as in systemic lupus erythematosus and other sporadic autoimmune disorders. The currently accepted notion that autoimmunization proceeds automatically (by ‘default’) does not explain how, when or where autoimmune responses are initiated against which targets in APS1, or whether exogenous or internal danger signals are involved, or predict whether the primary auto-immunogenic targets are AIRE-dependent. As the parallels between these syndromes must hold novel clues to these puzzles, they demand explanations. To unify these and other findings, we propose that autoimmunization occurs centrally in aberrant thymic environments rendered ‘dangerous’ by AIRE-deficiency (possibly by excess undegraded nucleic acids/dead cell debris). The ensuing autoreactivity focuses early on the locally abundant type I interferons and then on other peripheral tissue autoantigens that are still expressed despite the absence of AIRE. These ideas raise numerous questions that others may already have the materials to address.

In humans, interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) normally favor IFN-gamma-producing "Th1" T cell responses. Myasthenia gravis (MG) patients with thymomas frequently have high-titer neutralizing autoantibodies against these cytokines, but not against IFN-gamma. Because they occasionally develop intractable (even fatal) infections, we have tested effects of their sera on the generation of IFN-gamma responses by healthy adult T cells to autologous lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated dendritic cells (DC). Anti-IL-12(+) sera consistently reduced IFN-gamma responses substantially, whether assessed by intracellular staining or ELISA. Therefore, thymoma patients with intractable infections might benefit from cautious IFN-gamma therapy. We discuss wider implications of the surprising rarity of clear clinical hazards-or benefits-of these autoantibodies.

We have screened for spontaneous anticytokine autoantibodies in patients with infections, neoplasms and autoimmune diseases, because of their increasingly reported co-occurrence. We tested for both binding and neutralizing autoantibodies to a range of human cytokines, including interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha), IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12, IL-18, interferon-alpha2 (IFN-alpha2), IFN-omega, IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), in plasmas or sera. With two notable exceptions described below, we found only occasional, mostly low-titre, non-neutralizing antibodies, mainly to GM-CSF; also to IL-10 in pemphigoid. Strikingly, however, high-titre, mainly IgG, autoantibodies to IFN-alpha2, IFN-omega and IL-12 were common at diagnosis in patients with late-onset myasthenia gravis (LOMG+), thymoma (T) but no MG (TMG-) and especially with both thymoma and MG together (TMG+). The antibodies recognized other closely related type I IFN-alpha subtypes, but rarely the distantly related type I IFN-beta, and never (detectably) the unrelated type II IFN-gamma. Antibodies to IL-12 showed a similar distribution to those against IFN-alpha2, although prevalences were slightly lower; correlations between individual titres against each were so modest that they appear to be entirely different specificities. Neither showed any obvious correlations with clinical parameters including thymoma histology and HLA type, but they did increase sharply if the tumours recurred. These antibodies neutralized their respective cytokine in bioassays in vitro; although they persisted for years severe infections were surprisingly uncommon, despite the immunosuppressive therapy also used in most cases. These findings must hold valuable clues to autoimmunizing mechanisms in paraneoplastic autoimmunity.

Bortezomib is a potent inhibitor of proteasomes currently used to eliminate malignant plasma cells in multiple myeloma patients. It is also effective in depleting both alloreactive plasma cells in acute Ab-mediated transplant rejection and their autoreactive counterparts in animal models of lupus and myasthenia gravis (MG). In this study, we demonstrate that bortezomib at 10 nM or higher concentrations killed long-lived plasma cells in cultured thymus cells from nine early-onset MG patients and consistently halted their spontaneous production not only of autoantibodies against the acetylcholine receptor but also of total IgG. Surprisingly, lenalidomide and dexamethasone had little effect on plasma cells. After bortezomib treatment, they showed ultrastructural changes characteristic of endoplasmic reticulum stress after 8 h and were no longer detectable at 24 h. Bortezomib therefore appears promising for treating MG and possibly other Ab-mediated autoimmune or allergic disorders, especially when given in short courses at modest doses before the standard immunosuppressive drugs have taken effect.

Patients with the autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type I (APS-I), caused by mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene, and myasthenia gravis (MG) with thymoma, show intriguing but unexplained parallels. They include uncommon manifestations like autoimmune adrenal insufficiency (AI), hypoparathyroidism, and chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis plus autoantibodies neutralizing IL-17, IL-22, and type I IFNs. Thymopoiesis in the absence of AIRE is implicated in both syndromes. To test whether these parallels extend further, we screened 247 patients with MG, thymoma, or both for clinical features and organ-specific autoantibodies characteristic of APS-I patients, and we assayed 26 thymoma samples for transcripts for AIRE and 16 peripheral tissue-specific autoantigens (TSAgs) by quantitative PCR. We found APS-I–typical autoantibodies and clinical manifestations, including chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis, AI, and asplenia, respectively, in 49 of 121 (40%) and 10 of 121 (8%) thymoma patients, but clinical features seldom occurred together with the corresponding autoantibodies. Both were rare in other MG subgroups (n = 126). In 38 patients with APS-I, by contrast, we observed neither autoantibodies against muscle Ags nor any neuromuscular disorders. Whereas relative transcript levels for AIRE and 7 of 16 TSAgs showed the expected underexpression in thymomas, levels were increased for four of the five TSAgs most frequently targeted by these patients’ autoantibodies. Therefore, the clinical and serologic parallels to APS-I in patients with thymomas are not explained purely by deficient TSAg transcription in these aberrant AIRE-deficient tumors. We therefore propose additional explanations for the unusual autoimmune biases they provoke. Thymoma patients should be monitored for potentially life-threatening APS-I manifestations such as AI and hypoparathyroidism.

The muscle weakness in myasthenia gravis (MG) is mediated by autoantibodies against the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) at the neuromuscular junction. Production of these pathogenic autoantibodies is believed to be associated with germinal centers (GC) and anti-AChR-secreting plasma cells in the hyperplastic thymus of patients with early onset MG (EOMG). Here, we describe the repertoire of rearranged heavy chain V genes and their clonal origins in GC from a typical EOMG patient. Three hundred fifteen rearranged Ig VH genes were amplified, cloned, and sequenced from sections of four thymic GC containing AChR-specific B cells. We found that thymic GC contain a remarkably heterogeneous population of B cells. Both naive and circulating memory B cells undergo Ag-driven clonal proliferation, somatic hypermutation, and selection. Numerous B cell clones were present, with no individual clone dominating the response. Comparisons of B cell clonal sequences from different GC and known anti-AChR Abs from other patients showed convergent mutations in the complementarity determining regions. These results are consistent with AChR driving an ongoing GC response in the thymus of EOMG patients. This is the first detailed analysis of B cell clones in human GC responding to a defined protein Ag, and the response we observed may reflect the effects of chronic stimulation by autoantigen.

We have analyzed a series of HLA region markers in 207 UK Caucasoids with early-onset myasthenia gravis (EOMG, onset before age 40), where there is a strong female bias. The well known associations with HLA-DR3 and -B8 have now proved to be significantly stronger in the 165 females than in the 42 males. In patients (of either sex) lacking -DR3, there was also a significant increase in HLA-DR2. Although the muscle weakness in EOMG is clearly mediated by autoantibodies, the associations are consistently stronger with HLA-B8 (in class I) than with HLA-DR3 (in class II), as confirmed here. We therefore typed 87–137 cases for polymorphisms at four loci in the intervening class III region, and also at three in the adjacent stretch of class I. At each locus, one allele tended to co-occur with HLA-B8 and showed strong and highly significant associations in the patients. There appeared to be a region of maximal susceptibility extending from HSP70 (in class III) past HLA-B and HLA-C at least 600kb telomerically into the class I region, which is now being mapped in detail. Any candidate genes here that act shortly after puberty may allow more precise localization of susceptibility.

In myasthenia gravis (MG), antibodies to the muscle acetylcholine receptor (AChR) cause muscle weakness. Experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) can be induced by immunisation against purified AChR; the main immunogenic region (MIR) is a conformation-dependent site that includes alpha 67-76. EAMG can also occur after immunisation against extracellular AChR sequences, but this probably involves intramolecular determinant spreading. In MG patients, thymic hyperplasia and germinal centres are found in about 50%, and thymoma in 10-15%. The heterogeneous, high affinity, IgG anti-AChR antibodies appear to be end-products of germinal centre responses, and react mainly with the MIR or a site on fetal AChR; the latter contains a gamma subunit and is mainly expressed on myoid cells in the thymic medulla. T cells cloned against recombinant AChR subunits recognise principally two naturally processed epitopes: epsilon 201-219 derived from adult AChR which is expressed in muscle, and sometimes in thymic epithelium, and alpha 146-160, common to fetal and adult AChR. Since AChR is not normally co-expressed with class II, it is unclear how CD4+ responses to AChR alpha and epsilon subunits are initiated, and how and where these spread to induce antibodies against fetal AChR. Various possibilities, including upregulation of class II on muscle/myoid cells and involvement of CD8+ responses to AChR and other muscle antigens, are discussed.

Using an acetylcholine receptor-specific T-cell clone (TCC) from a myasthenia gravis patient, we have compared the induction of unresponsiveness by three agents: an anti-Vβ monoclonal antibody (mAb), complexes of MHC class II with specific peptide (DR4:peptide) and free peptide. Pretreatment with each agent without antigen-presenting cells specifically rendered the TCC unresponsive to a subsequent optimal stimulus. A substantial proportion of the DR4:peptide pretreated cells underwent apoptosis and the remainder were profoundly unresponsive. Apoptosis was less prominent after pretreatment with free peptide and was not significant with anti-Vβ mAb; with both, the unresponsiveness was transient in the survivors. These diverse effects of engaging the T-cell receptor in the absence of costimulation suggest that these agents act via different mechanisms, and give insights into the potential for specific immunotherapy.

Late-onset myasthenia gravis (LOMG) has become the largest MG subgroup, but the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms remain mysterious. Among the few etiological clues are the almost unique serologic parallels between LOMG and thymoma-associated MG (TAMG), notably autoantibodies against acetylcholine receptors, titin, ryanodine receptor, type I interferons or IL-12. This is why we checked LOMG patients for two further peculiar features of TAMG – its associations with the CTLA4 high/gain-of-function +49A/A genotype and with increased thymic export of naive T cells into the blood, possibly after defective negative selection in AIRE-deficient thymomas. We analyzed genomic DNA from 116 Caucasian LOMG patients for CTLA4 alleles by PCR/restriction fragment length polymorphism, and blood mononuclear cells for recent thymic emigrants by quantitative PCR for T cell receptor excision circles. In sharp contrast with TAMG, we now find that: i) CTLA4 low +49G(+) genotypes were more frequent ( p = 0.0029) among the 69 LOMG patients with age at onset ≥60 years compared with 172 healthy controls; ii) thymic export of naive T cells from the non-neoplastic thymuses of 36 LOMG patients was lower ( p = 0.0058) at diagnosis than in 77 age-matched controls. These new findings are important because they suggest distinct initiating mechanisms in TAMG and LOMG and hint at aberrant immuno-regulation in the periphery in LOMG. We therefore propose alternate defects in central thymic or peripheral tolerance induction in TAMG and LOMG converging on similar final outcomes. In addition, our data support a 60-year-threshold for onset of ‘true LOMG’ and an LOMG/early-onset MG overlapping group of patients between 40 and 60.

Almost all patients with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome (APS)-I have high titer neutralizing autoantibodies to type I interferons (IFN), especially IFN-ω and IFN-α2, whatever their clinical features and onset-ages. About 90 % also have antibodies to interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-17F and/or IL-22; they correlate with the chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) that affects ~90 % of patients. Our aim was to explore how early the manifestations and endocrine and cytokine autoantibodies appear in young APS-I patients. That may hold clues to very early events in the autoimmunization process in these patients.Clinical investigations and autoantibody measurements in 13 APS-I patients sampled before age 7 years, and 3 pre-symptomatic siblings with AIRE-mutations in both alleles.Antibody titers were already high against IFN-α2 and IFN-ω at age 6 months in one sibling-8 months before onset of APS-I-and also against IL-22 at 7 months in another (still unaffected at age 5 years). In 12 of the 13 APS-I patients, antibody levels were high against IFN-ω and/or IL-22 when first tested, but only modestly positive against IFN-ω in one patient who had only hypo-parathyroidism. Endocrine organ-specific antibodies were present at age 6 months in one sibling, and as early as 36 and 48 months in two of the six informative subjects.This is the first study to collate the onset of clinical features, cytokine and endocrine autoantibodies in APS-I infants and siblings. The highly restricted early autoantibody responses and clinical features they show are not easily explained by mere loss of broad-specific self-tolerance inducing mechanisms, but hint at some more sharply focused early event(s) in autoimmunization.

Patients with autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type I (APS I) or acquired thymoma-associated myasthenia gravis (MG) surprisingly share several common features, including defective expression of the transcription factor AIRE and autoantibodies against type I interferons. Here, we have adapted and validated the radioligand-binding assay we recently developed against (35)S-Met-interferon-ω, for rapid and specific screening for autoantibodies against interferons-α2 and -α8. We then investigated their potential for diagnosis and for predicting clinical manifestations in patients with APS I and different subgroups of MG. Autoantibodies against interferons-ω, -α2, and -α8 occurred more often in patients with APS I (100%) and MG with thymoma (73%) than in late-onset MG (39%) and early-onset MG (5%). These autoantibodies showed preferences for interferon-ω in APS I and for the interferon-αs in MG, hinting at thymic aberrations in both groups. The exact profile of type I interferon antibodies may indicate MG subtype and may hint at thymoma recurrence.

Muscle or thymic myoid cells, if induced to express MHC class II in addition to endogenous acetylcholine receptor (AChR), might present epitopes derived from the AChR to specific CD4+ T cells. These T cells could in turn initiate or maintain the anti-AChR response that is responsible for AChR loss in myasthenia gravis (MG). We transfected the AChR+ TE671 (rhabdomyosarcoma) cells with HLA-DR4 and co-cultured them with the DR4-restricted, CD4+ T cell clone (PM-A1; raised from a hyperplastic thymus of an MG patient and previously shown to recognise all forms of the AChR that contain the sequence alpha 144-156). Significant T cell activation, demonstrated both by 3H-thymidine incorporation and by lysis of the TE671 cells, was found in the presence of added alpha 144-156 and, more importantly, in the absence of exogenous antigen. These results show that MHC class II-expressing muscle or other AChR-expressing cells could present endogenous AChR to pathogenic T cells. This process may be important in the aetiology of MG.

Partly because they are vital but vulnerable, neuromuscular receptors/ion channels are frequently the focus of attack in autoimmune diseases. With such well defined targets and patient subgroups, and with such clear antibody-mediated pathogeneses, these diseases offer excellent scope for highly specific diagnostic tests, which already help to point patients towards optimal treatments. This review focuses on the autoantibodies and their detection, and briefly considers prospects for novel therapeutic approaches. These disorders have also proved fertile ground for detailed studies on pathogenic mechanisms. Moreover, it is hoped that the distinct patient subgroups and the characteristic tumor associations therein will hold valuable clues to pathways of autoimmunization.

The acetylcholine receptor (AChR) of muscle is the target of the pathogenic antibodies in the human autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis (MG). For studies on the autoreactive T cells presumed to be responsible, use of intact human autoantigen would be optimal, but it was thought to be prohibitively scarce. However, adsorption to the surface of immunomagnetic particles (Dynabeads) of intact AChR from whole muscle extracts or from affinity-purified preparations, using mouse anti-human AChR Mabs, largely overcomes this problem. Together with antigen presenting cells (APC), this bead-bound AChR has consistently and maximally stimulated an established MG T cell line (previously selected with recombinant human AChR alpha subunit) that recognises the 144-156 region of the human alpha sequence (Ong et al., 1991). For equivalent T cell stimulation, bead-bound AChR was at least 10(3) times more potent than soluble AChR or recombinant alpha subunit, and 10(6) times more potent than peptide 144-156, implying that antigen in this form is targetted very efficiently to APC and thus to T cells. Finally, we have obtained similar results with T cells specific for other antigens suggesting that this method may have wider applications.

Understanding of myasthenia gravis (MG) has been advanced by a series of clinical and basic breakthroughs since the early recognition that it mimics curare poisoning and can likewise be treated with anti-cholinesterase drugs1, which established that it is a defect in nerve-muscle transmission. The subsequent identification2 of high affinity α-neurotoxin probes led to efforts to purify and characterise their targets-the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (AChR)-initially from detergent extracts of the AChR-rich electric organs of the electric ray (Torpedo). When the resulting product was used to immunise rabbits, they developed typical myasthenic signs that were also cleared by anti-cholinesterases3. This was dramatic support for Simpson's earlier prediction4 that MG would prove to be autoimmune, and was rapidly confirmed by the ready detectability of autoantibodies to human muscle AChR in 85590% of MG patients5. In the 1980s, the Torpedo, human and other AChR genes have been cloned and sequenced6, and so, ...

The thymus is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis (MG). The 80% of MG patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor autoantibodies fall into three clinical subgroups: 1) thymoma; 2) early-onset MG (

Background The autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene influences thymic self-tolerance induction. In autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS1; OMIM 240300), recessive AIRE mutations lead to autoimmunity targetting endocrine and other epithelial tissues, although chronic candidiasis usually appears first. Autoimmunity and chronic candidiasis can associate with thymomas as well. Patients with these tumours frequently also have high titre immunoglobulin G autoantibodies neutralising type I interferon (IFN)–α and IFN-ω, which are secreted signalling proteins of the cytokine superfamily involved in both innate and adaptive immunity. Methods and Findings We tested for serum autoantibodies to type I IFNs and other immunoregulatory cytokines using specific binding and neutralisation assays. Unexpectedly, in 60/60 Finnish and 16/16 Norwegian APS1 patients with both AIRE alleles mutated, we found high titre neutralising immunoglobulin G autoantibodies to most IFN-α subtypes and especially IFN-ω (60% homologous to IFN-α)—mostly in the earliest samples. We found lower titres against IFN-β (30% homologous to IFN-α) in 23% of patients; two-thirds of these (from Finland only) also had low titres against the distantly related “type III IFN” (IFN-λ1; alias interleukin-29). However, autoantibodies to the unrelated type II IFN, IFN-γ, and other immunoregulatory cytokines, such as interleukin-10 and interleukin-12, were much rarer and did not neutralise. Neutralising titres against type I IFNs averaged even higher in patients with APS1 than in patients with thymomas. Anti–type I IFN autoantibodies preceded overt candidiasis (and several of the autoimmune disorders) in the informative patients, and persisted for decades thereafter. They were undetectable in unaffected heterozygous relatives of APS1 probands (except for low titres against IFN-λ1), in APS2 patients, and in isolated cases of the endocrine diseases most typical of APS1, so they appear to be APS1-specific. Looking for potentially autoimmunising cell types, we found numerous IFN-α+ antigen-presenting cells—plus strong evidence of local IFN secretion—in the normal thymic medulla (where AIRE expression is strongest), and also in normal germinal centres, where it could perpetuate these autoantibody responses once initiated. IFN-α2 and IFN-α8 transcripts were also more abundant in antigen-presenting cells cultured from an APS1 patient's blood than from age-matched healthy controls. Conclusions These apparently spontaneous autoantibody responses to IFNs, particularly IFN-α and IFN-ω, segregate like a recessive trait; their high “penetrance” is especially remarkable for such a variable condition. Their apparent restriction to APS1 patients implies practical value in the clinic, e.g., in diagnosing unusual or prodromal AIRE-mutant patients with only single components of APS1, and possibly in prognosis if they prove to predict its onset. These autoantibody responses also raise numerous questions, e.g., about the rarity of other infections in APS1. Moreover, there must also be clues to autoimmunising mechanisms/cell types in the hierarchy of preferences for IFN-ω, IFN-α8, IFN-α2, and IFN-β and IFN-λ1., Almost all of nearly 100 APS1 patients studied made large amounts of auto-antibodies that blocked the function of IFN-α and IFN-ω. The antibodies appeared early during development of the disease and may play a role in its etiology., Editors' Summary Background. The human body is under constant attack by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, but the immune system usually prevents these pathogens from causing disease. To be effective, the immune system has to respond rapidly to foreign antigens (bits of protein specific to pathogens) while ignoring self-antigens. If tolerance to self-antigens breaks down, autoimmunity develops, often causing disease. There are many common autoimmune diseases—type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis, for example—but because these involve defects in many genes as well as environmental factors, the details of how autoimmunity develops remain unclear. Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy syndrome type 1 (APS1), however, is caused by defects in a single gene. Patients with this rare disease characteristically have defects (or mutations) in both copies of a gene called AIRE (for autoimmune regulator). In normal people, the protein product of this gene helps to establish tolerance to a subset of self-antigens. People carrying AIRE mutations make an autoimmune response against some of their own tissues, typically the endocrine (hormone-producing) tissues that control body metabolism. A major component of this autoimmune response are “autoantibodies” (antibodies are immune molecules that normally recognize and attack foreign substances, whereas autoantibodies are directed against the body's own molecules). Why Was This Study Done? For a diagnosis of APS1, a patient must have at least two of the following symptoms: recurrent, localized yeast infections (usually the first symptom of the disease to appear in early childhood), hypoparathyroidism (failure of the gland that controls calcium levels in the body), and Addison disease (failure of the steroid-producing adrenal glands, which help the body respond to stress). The researchers who did this study had previously noticed that these yeast infections and autoimmunity (usually against muscle) can also occur in patients with tumors of the thymus (thymomas). The thymus is the organ that generates immune cells called T cells. Generation of the T cell repertoire in the thymus involves selection of those T cells that recognize only foreign substances. T cells that can react against self-antigens are eliminated, and the AIRE gene is thought to be involved in this “education process.” Like those with APS1, patients with thymomas make autoantibodies not only against target organs (especially muscle in their case), but also against interferon alpha (IFN-α) and interferon omega (IFN-ω), two secreted immune regulators. The researchers wanted to know if patients with APS1 also make autoantibodies against interferons, because this could provide insights into how autoimmunity develops in APS1 and other autoimmune diseases. What Did the Researchers Do and Find? The researchers tested blood from nearly 100 APS1 patients for antibodies to IFN-α, IFN-ω, and other immunoregulatory cytokines. They found that almost all patients made large amounts of antibodies that blocked the function of IFN-α and IFN-ω; some also made lower amounts of antibodies against two related interferons, but none made blocking antibodies against unrelated interferons or other immune regulators. For many patients, serum samples were available at different times during their disease, which allowed the researchers to show that the antibodies appeared early in disease development, before the onset of yeast infections or damage to endocrine tissues, and their production continued for decades as the patient aged. Furthermore, only patients with APS1 made these antibodies—they were absent in patients with Addison disease alone, for example. What Do These Findings Mean? The discovery that autoantibodies to IFN-α and IFN-ω are made persistently in patients with APS1 suggests ways in which autoimmunity develops in these patients. These can now be investigated further both in patients and in animal models of the disease. The discovery also has practical implications. Measurement of these autoantibodies might help some APS1 patients by allowing earlier diagnosis—and prompter treatment—than in current practice. The levels of these autoantibodies might also help to predict the time course of APS1 in individual patients, although more studies will be needed to check this out. Finally, if future studies show that interferon autoantibodies are responsible for the patients' susceptibility to yeast infections (which seems plausible), treatment with IFN-γ, an interferon to which APS1 patients do not make autoantibodies, might provide an alternative way to deal with this problem. Additional Information. Please access these Web sites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030289. • MedlinePlus pages on autoimmune diseases • Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man page on APS1 • Links to patient information on APS1 from the Stanford Health Library • Wikipedia page on autoendocrine polyendocrinopathy (note: Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit) • Information on autoimmunity from the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association

In myasthenia gravis (MG), humoral and cellular immune mechanisms are involved in the autoimmune pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the role of the CD45 molecule in MG, having recently reported an association in multiple sclerosis. CD45, a protein-tyrosine phophatase receptor type C (PTPRC), is essential for both thymic selection and peripheral activation of T and B cells. Our aims were to determine (a) the prevalence of a functional mutation in the CD45 gene (exon 4 77C --> G; prevalence analysis), and (b) the distribution of memory (CD45RO+) and naive (CD45RA+) T cells in the peripheral blood (subset analysis). T cells from 78 patients with generalised MG were stained with monoclonal antibodies against CD45RO, CD45RA, CD4 and CD8 and quantified by four-colour flow cytometry. The control panel for the prevalence analysis (a) consisted of 303 healthy individuals. (b) From those, 67 age- and sex-matched probands were randomly selected as controls for the subset analysis. Patients were stratified according to their MG onset age, thymic pathology and immunosuppressive treatment. Statistical analysis was performed by Fisher's exact test, asymptotic chi2 test, the two-sided Mann-Whitney test and Spearman's correlation coefficient. As a result, the 77C --> G mutation in exon 4 of the CD45 gene was found in 1 of 78 patients versus none of the 303 controls. Thus, no association was detected with this single nucleotide polymorphism in MG patients overall. Surprisingly, however, ratios of CD45RO+ to CD45RA+ T cells were lower among CD8+ T cells from patients with late-onset MG (P = 0.023). Thymoma patients also showed a similar trend among CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, as expected. These differences were not related to immunosuppressive drug treatment or thymectomy (in the 67 informative patients). Since there is no other evidence for increased thymopoiesis in late-onset MG, we propose an altered subset balance in the circulation.

In early-onset myasthenia gravis (EOMG), the thymus usually shows medullary lymph node-type infiltrates, rearranged bands of hyperplastic epithelium and focal fenestrations in the intervening laminin borders. This resemblance to autoimmune target organs may reflect autoantigen expression by rare thymic myoid cells, long ago implicated circumstantially as agents provocateurs . In this quantitative study, they were frequently seen at the laminin fenestrations; if so, germinal centers (GC) were significantly commoner nearby, our most EOMG-specific finding (not seen in a distinct MG patient subset). As autoantibodies became detectable, myoid cell involvement apparently progressed. Our unifying hypothesis—that an early autoantibody attack on myoid cells provokes local GC formation—helps to resolve many puzzles.

It is generally considered that myoblasts are unable to prime naive T cell responses without help from professional antigen-presenting cells (APC). However, their ability to present endogenous antigens to previously primed T lymphocytes in the secondary phase of a T cell response has not been well studied. We show here that primary human myoblasts, when stimulated with IFNgamma to express class II MHC, can present an endogenous epitope, probably an acetylcholine receptor (AChR) peptide, to a CD4(+) AChR-specific T helper lymphocyte clone. Presentation leads to secretion of IFNgamma by the T cell clone and, in addition, killing of the myoblast. Our results suggest that, during the effector phase of the immune response, myoblasts could enhance the inflammatory response by presenting endogenous antigen, and thereby become targets for CD4(+) T lymphocyte-induced cytotoxicity; subsequent release of myoblast antigens could then lead to inter- and intra-molecular determinant spreading.

The early-onset myasthenia gravis (EOMG) thymus shows characteristic medullary epithelial bands (MEB), greatly expanded perivascular infiltrates and fenestrations of the intervening basement membranes. We now compare epithelial expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and many integrins in EOMG and control samples. The main differences are striking/consistent thickening (in MEB) of what is normally a monolayer of perivascular epithelium, with focal protrusion into the infiltrates. This evidently hyperplastic epithelial subpopulation also strongly expresses EGFR and certain integrins. We suggest that its enhanced interactions with the locally increased extracellular matrix protein deposits may play an important role in autosensitization.

The anti-rheumatoid drug D-penicillamine (D-pen) has a reactive sulfhydryl group capable of modifying self antigens, and can provoke typical autoantibody-mediated myasthenia gravis (MG), especially in DR1+ individuals. We have selected T cell clones from one such patient that were highly specific for D-pen but not its L-isomer or D-cysteine. Moreover, they were restricted to HLA-DR1, had a Th1 phenotype and used TCR V alpha4.1, V beta6.1. They responded well to blood mononuclear cells prepulsed with D-pen either in the absence of serum or after chloroquine treatment, but not to autologous D-pen-pulsed B cell lines. Thus, D-pen may directly couple to distinctive peptides resident in surface DR1 molecules on circulating macrophages or dendritic cells.

There is increasing evidence that spontaneous anticytokine autoantibodies are associated with chronic infections and autoimmune diseases. We report the sporadic occurrence in autoimmune diseases of such autoantibodies to granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a cytokine involved in inflammation and the regulation of proliferation, differentiation and function of granulocytic and monocytic cell lineages. In 41 of 425 patients tested, we found low to moderate levels of autoantibodies binding to GM-CSF in serum or plasma. These were most prevalent in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). However, neutralizing autoantibodies against GM-CSF were very rare, being found in only three patients. Two had autoimmune MG, one with thymoma (Patient A) and the other (Patient B) with ‘seronegative’ MG, i.e. without the antiacetylcholine receptor autoantibodies characteristic of most MG patients, and a third (Patient D) had multiple sclerosis. Only very limited amounts of Patient A and Patient D serum/plasma were available for analysis and therefore further studies were carried out on the more plentiful samples from Patient B. The anti-GM-CSF autoantibodies of Patient B were predominantly polyclonal immunoglobulin G and strongly neutralized recombinant human (rh) GM-CSF derived from different expression systems. They had similar immunological and immunochemical characteristics to anti-GM-CSF antibodies that developed in immunocompetent colorectal carcinoma patients following (rh)GM-CSF therapy. In serial samples from Patient B, the anti-GM-CSF autoantibodies were undetectable from diagnosis at age 8 years until at least age 13, but then developed spontaneously during (temporary) withdrawal of immunosuppressive treatment. Their neutralizing activity has persisted since their first detection at age 15 years 1 month, and was at its highest level recently at age 17 years 7 months. There was no obvious association with other autoimmune phenomena, nor were any haematological deficiencies overtly manifested, suggesting that any loss of GM-CSF function may have been compensated for by other cytokines.

Non-professional antigen-presenting cells (APC) have a limited ability to activate T lymphocytes during normal and auto-immune responses. Myoblasts could play an important role as APC in the etiology of autoimmune myasthenia gravis and polymyositis, as well as during muscle graft rejection. We examined the role of different component cell subsets in the response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to allogeneic myoblasts. Treatment of myoblasts with TNF α or IFN γ led to the expression of a range of immunostimulatory molecules including MHC class I and II, and CD95 (Fas), but not B7 family molecules. Whole PBMC, cultured with allogeneic myoblasts, proliferated, secreted IFN γ , and were cytotoxic. Proliferation and IFN γ secretion were largely dependent on the presence of CD4 + lymphocytes, but neither CD4 + nor CD8 + T cells were responsible for cytotoxicity, which was mediated by MHC class II + non-T mononuclear cells. However, purified CD4 + lymphocytes co-cultured with allogeneic myoblasts required co-stimulation with anti-CD28 antibodies for proliferation and IFN γ secretion, which only induced a low level of IFN γ secretion by CD8 + lymphocytes and did not induce cytotoxic function. These results suggest that human myoblasts can act as antigen-presenting cells for naive T lymphocytes, but only with additional co-stimulation.

SUMMARYMost thymic epithelial tumours that associate with MG express an epitope that resembles the sequence α373–380 from the cytoplasmic loop of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR). It has been proposed that sensitization to this linear epitope initiates autoimmunity to the AChR in thymoma-associated MG. We therefore tested whether MG/thymoma patients have T cell responses or antibodies to this region of the AChR. We found no significant recognition of the α309–417 region by their thymoma or peripheral blood T cells, or by their serum anti-AChR antibodies. Instead, the T cell epitopes that were recognized, like the previously characterized B cell epitopes, were in the extracellular AChR domain.

The muscle weakness in myasthenia gravis (MG) is caused by heterogeneous high-affinity IgG autoantibodies to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR), a complex ion channel glycoprotein. These antibodies are clearly responsible for reducing AChR numbers at the neuromuscular junction in myasthenia; however, the origins, diversity, specificity and pathogenicity of individual antibodies have not yet been established. We have cloned and characterized four different AChR-specific Fab from an MG patient's thymus by screening an IgG1/kappa gene combinatorial lambda phage library with soluble human AChR labeled with [125I] alpha-bungarotoxin. Unlike most previously cloned human antibodies, all four Fab immunoprecipitated soluble human muscle AChR. Two Fab strongly inhibited binding of mAb to the main immunogenic region on the alpha subunits and one Fab bound to an epitope on the fetal-specific gamma subunit. In sensitivity and fine specificity, these Fab resembled the anti-AChR antibodies found in many MG patients, including the donor. The closest germline counterparts for their heavy chains were in VH families 1, 3 and 4; however, there were many differences consistent with an antigen-driven response of diverse B cell clones. The combinatorial approach holds promise for further analysis of human autoantibodies.

In the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis (MG), autoantibodies against the muscle AChR are mainly produced by both short- and long-lived plasma cells, which are resistant to standard immunosuppressive drugs (i.e. glucocorticoids). A novel therapy to eliminate plasma cells is the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib, which is used to treat patients with multiple myeloma (MM, a plasma cell malignancy). Previously, we demonstrated that bortezomib also reduced autoantibody titers in an animal model of MG (Gomez, A. M. J. Immunol. 2011). The thymus of MG patients is frequently enriched in germinal centers and contains plasma cells that produce autoantibodies in vitro, even after irradiation (which depletes B and T lymphocytes). We studied the in vitro effects of bortezomib in cultured thymus cells from MG patients undergoing therapeutic thymectomy. Treatment with a single dose of bortezomib blocked the production of these pathogenic autoantibodies, reduced the total IgG levels and eliminated plasma cells. Ultrastructural signs of apoptosis were detected in plasma cells as early as 8 h after addition of bortezomib; at 24 h, no plasma cells could be detected. Moreover, we demonstrated that the minimum concentration of bortezomib that eliminates plasma cells in vitro is 60-fold lower than the peak concentration found in MM patients treated with bortezomib, suggesting that low doses might be effective for eliminating plasma cells in patients with antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases.

Summary Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy candidiasis ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) is a recessive disorder resulting from mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE). The patients' autoantibodies recognize not only multiple organ-specific targets, but also many type I interferons (IFNs) and most T helper type 17 (Th17) cell-associated cytokines, whose biological actions they neutralize in vitro. These anti-cytokine autoantibodies are highly disease-specific: otherwise, they have been found only in patients with thymomas, tumours of thymic epithelial cells that fail to express AIRE. Moreover, autoantibodies against Th17 cell-associated cytokines correlate with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis in both syndromes. Here, we demonstrate that the immunoglobulin (Ig)Gs but not the IgAs in APECED sera are responsible for neutralizing IFN-ω, IFN-α2a, interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-22. Their dominant subclasses proved to be IgG1 and, surprisingly, IgG4 without IgE, possibly implicating regulatory T cell responses and/or epithelia in their initiation in these AIRE-deficiency states. The epitopes on IL-22 and IFN-α2a appeared mainly conformational. We also found mainly IgG1 neutralizing autoantibodies to IL-17A in aged AIRE-deficient BALB/c mice – the first report of any target shared by these human and murine AIRE-deficiency states. We conclude that autoimmunization against cytokines in AIRE deficiency is not simply a mere side effect of chronic mucosal Candida infection, but appears to be related more closely to disease initiation.

Introduction Both autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED) and the rare thymoma patients with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis (CMC) have neutralizing autoantibodies to Th17 cytokines and significant defects in production of IL-22 and IL-17F by their T cells. The cause of these defects is unknown. We hypothesized that they might result from autoimmunity against upstream cytokines normally responsible for generating and maintaining Th17 cells. Methods Luciferase immunoprecipitation (LIPS) was used to screen for autoantibodies to IL-6, IL-1β, TGF-β3, IL-21, and IL-23 in patients with APECED or thymoma. We used Western blotting to assess the conformation-dependence of the IL-6 autoantibodies and flow cytometric analysis of intracellular phospho-STAT3 induction to assess IL-6-neutralizing capacity in IgGs isolated from patient and control sera. We also used Luminex xMAP to measure serum cytokine levels. Results We found autoantibodies binding to conformational epitopes of IL-6 in 19.5% of 41 patients with APECED and 12.5% of 104 with thymoma-especially in those with long disease durations. The autoantibodies were predominantly of IgG1 subclass and failed to neutralize IL-6 activity. Notably, serum levels of the IL-6 and IL-17A cytokines were higher in anti-IL-6 seropositive than-negative APECED patients or healthy controls. We also detected autoantibody binding to IL-23 in 27.9% of thymoma patients, resulting from cross-recognition through the p40 subunit it shares with IL-12. Conclusions IL-6 and IL-17A elevation in these seropositive patients suggests that antibody-binding may protect IL-6 from degradation and prolong its half-life in vivo.