Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2012 Dec;1275:123-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06833.x.
Around 80% of myasthenia gravis patients have antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor, and 0-60% of the remaining patients have antibodies against the muscle-specific tyrosine kinase, MuSK. Another recently identified antigen is low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (Lrp4). To improve the existing assays and widen the search for new antigenic targets, we have employed cell-based assays in which candidate target proteins are expressed on the cell surface of transfected cells and probed with patient sera. These assays, combined with use of myotube cultures to explore the effects of the antibodies, enable us to begin to identify new antigenic targets and test antibody pathogenicity in vitro.
大约 80%的重症肌无力患者体内存在乙酰胆碱受体抗体，其余患者中有 0-60%存在肌肉特异性酪氨酸激酶抗体，MuSK。最近还发现了一种新的抗原，即低密度脂蛋白受体相关蛋白 4（Lrp4）。为了改进现有的检测方法并扩大对新抗原性目标的研究，我们采用了基于细胞的检测方法，其中候选靶蛋白在转染细胞的表面表达，并与患者血清进行探测。这些检测方法与肌管培养物的使用相结合，用于探索抗体的作用，使我们能够开始鉴定新的抗原性目标，并在体外测试抗体的致病性。
