Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.

The β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, albuterol, has been reported beneficial in treating several forms of congenital myasthenia. Here, for the first time, we examined the potential benefit of albuterol in a mouse model of anti-Muscle Specific Kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis. Mice received 15 daily in...

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Main Authors: Nazanin Ghazanfari, Marco Morsch, Nigel Tse, Stephen W Reddel, William D Phillips
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3914858?pdf=render
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author Nazanin Ghazanfari
Marco Morsch
Nigel Tse
Stephen W Reddel
William D Phillips
author_facet Nazanin Ghazanfari
Marco Morsch
Nigel Tse
Stephen W Reddel
William D Phillips
author_sort Nazanin Ghazanfari
collection DOAJ
description The β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, albuterol, has been reported beneficial in treating several forms of congenital myasthenia. Here, for the first time, we examined the potential benefit of albuterol in a mouse model of anti-Muscle Specific Kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis. Mice received 15 daily injections of IgG from anti-MuSK positive patients, which resulted in whole-body weakness. At neuromuscular junctions in the tibialis anterior and diaphragm muscles the autoantibodies caused loss of postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors, and reduced the amplitudes of the endplate potential and spontaneous miniature endplate potential in the diaphragm muscle. Treatment with albuterol (8 mg/kg/day) during the two-week anti-MuSK injection series reduced the degree of weakness and weight loss, compared to vehicle-treated mice. However, the compound muscle action potential recorded from the gastrocnemius muscle displayed a decremental response in anti-MuSK-injected mice whether treated with albuterol or vehicle. Ongoing albuterol treatment did not increase endplate potential amplitudes compared to vehicle-treated mice nor did it prevent the loss of acetylcholine receptors from motor endplates. On the other hand, albuterol treatment significantly reduced the degree of fragmentation of endplate acetylcholine receptor clusters and increased the extent to which the remaining receptor clusters were covered by synaptophysin-stained nerve terminals. The results provide the first evidence that short-term albuterol treatment can ameliorate weakness in a robust mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis. The results also demonstrate that it is possible for albuterol treatment to reduce whole-body weakness without necessarily reversing myasthenic impairment to the structure and function of the neuromuscular junction.
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spelling doaj.art-99e12a425ccf401bb0380c28e5fb052e2022-12-21T17:50:28ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0192e8784010.1371/journal.pone.0087840Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.Nazanin GhazanfariMarco MorschNigel TseStephen W ReddelWilliam D PhillipsThe β2-adrenergic receptor agonist, albuterol, has been reported beneficial in treating several forms of congenital myasthenia. Here, for the first time, we examined the potential benefit of albuterol in a mouse model of anti-Muscle Specific Kinase (MuSK) myasthenia gravis. Mice received 15 daily injections of IgG from anti-MuSK positive patients, which resulted in whole-body weakness. At neuromuscular junctions in the tibialis anterior and diaphragm muscles the autoantibodies caused loss of postsynaptic acetylcholine receptors, and reduced the amplitudes of the endplate potential and spontaneous miniature endplate potential in the diaphragm muscle. Treatment with albuterol (8 mg/kg/day) during the two-week anti-MuSK injection series reduced the degree of weakness and weight loss, compared to vehicle-treated mice. However, the compound muscle action potential recorded from the gastrocnemius muscle displayed a decremental response in anti-MuSK-injected mice whether treated with albuterol or vehicle. Ongoing albuterol treatment did not increase endplate potential amplitudes compared to vehicle-treated mice nor did it prevent the loss of acetylcholine receptors from motor endplates. On the other hand, albuterol treatment significantly reduced the degree of fragmentation of endplate acetylcholine receptor clusters and increased the extent to which the remaining receptor clusters were covered by synaptophysin-stained nerve terminals. The results provide the first evidence that short-term albuterol treatment can ameliorate weakness in a robust mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis. The results also demonstrate that it is possible for albuterol treatment to reduce whole-body weakness without necessarily reversing myasthenic impairment to the structure and function of the neuromuscular junction.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3914858?pdf=render
spellingShingle Nazanin Ghazanfari
Marco Morsch
Nigel Tse
Stephen W Reddel
William D Phillips
Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.
PLoS ONE
title Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.
title_full Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.
title_fullStr Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.
title_full_unstemmed Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.
title_short Effects of the ß2-adrenoceptor agonist, albuterol, in a mouse model of anti-MuSK myasthenia gravis.
title_sort effects of the ss2 adrenoceptor agonist albuterol in a mouse model of anti musk myasthenia gravis
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3914858?pdf=render
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