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Thymus involvement in early-onset myasthenia gravis.
- Source :
-
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences [Ann N Y Acad Sci] 2018 Jan; Vol. 1412 (1), pp. 137-145. Date of Electronic Publication: 2017 Nov 10. - Publication Year :
- 2018
-
Abstract
- It has long been established that the thymus plays a central role in autoimmune myasthenia gravis (MG) because of either thymoma or thymic hyperplasia of lymphoproliferative origin. In this review, we discuss thymic changes associated with thymic hyperplasia and their implications in the development of an autoimmune response against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR).The hyperplastic MG thymus displays all the characteristics of tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs): neoangiogenic processes with high endothelial venule and lymphatic vessel development, chemokine overexpression favoring peripheral cell recruitment, and ectopic germinal center development. As thymic epithelial cells or myoid cells express AChR, a specific antigen presentation can easily occur within the thymus in the presence of recruited peripheral cells, such as B cells and T follicular helper cells. How the thymus turns into a TLO is not known, but local inflammation seems mandatory. Interferon (IFN)-β is overexpressed in MG thymus and could orchestrate thymic changes associated with MG. Knowledge about how IFN-β is induced in MG thymus and why its expression is sustained even long after disease onset would be of interest in the future to better understand the etiological and physiopathological mechanisms involved in autoimmune MG.<br /> (© 2017 New York Academy of Sciences.)
- Subjects :
- Adult
Age of Onset
Chemokines genetics
Female
Germinal Center immunology
Germinal Center pathology
Host-Pathogen Interactions immunology
Humans
Immunity, Innate
Interferon-beta immunology
Male
MicroRNAs genetics
Middle Aged
Myasthenia Gravis immunology
Myasthenia Gravis pathology
Neovascularization, Pathologic
Receptors, Cholinergic immunology
T-Lymphocytes immunology
Thymus Gland blood supply
Thymus Gland pathology
Thymus Hyperplasia complications
Thymus Hyperplasia immunology
Thymus Hyperplasia pathology
Toll-Like Receptors genetics
Up-Regulation
Myasthenia Gravis etiology
Thymus Gland immunology
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1749-6632
- Volume :
- 1412
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 29125185
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13519