Tzartos S J
Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece.
In Vivo. 1988 Jan-Feb;2(1):105-10.
Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is caused by auto-antibodies to the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR). Rapid progress has been made recently in the study of both the disease and the AChR. A significant part of this progress can be attributed to monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) raised against the AChR. These antibodies have been used to identify, purify and study the structure, function and biosynthesis of AChR from electric organs, muscles and neurons. In MG, these mAbs have been used as model auto-antibodies in in vivo and in vitro studies. They have also been used as tools for the structural and functional analysis of the patients' antibodies. A region on a small segment of the AChR alpha-subunit (main immunogenic region) dominates the immunogenicity and probably the pathogenicity of the molecule.
重症肌无力（MG）由针对烟碱型乙酰胆碱受体（AChR）的自身抗体引起。最近，在该疾病和AChR的研究方面都取得了快速进展。这一进展的很大一部分可归因于针对AChR产生的单克隆抗体（mAb）。这些抗体已被用于鉴定、纯化以及研究来自电器官、肌肉和神经元的AChR的结构、功能和生物合成。在重症肌无力中，这些单克隆抗体已在体内和体外研究中用作模型自身抗体。它们还被用作分析患者抗体结构和功能的工具。AChRα亚基一小段上的一个区域（主要免疫原性区域）主导了该分子的免疫原性，可能还有致病性。
