Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.

The neuromuscular junction lies beyond the protection of the blood-brain barrier and is particularly vulnerable to antibody-mediated attack. In myasthenia gravis, the expression of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) in the thymus is under the control of the autoimmune regulator protein (AIRE), and poly...

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Main Authors: Lang, B, Vincent, A
Format: Journal article
Sprog:English
Udgivet: 2009
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author Lang, B
Vincent, A
author_facet Lang, B
Vincent, A
author_sort Lang, B
collection OXFORD
description The neuromuscular junction lies beyond the protection of the blood-brain barrier and is particularly vulnerable to antibody-mediated attack. In myasthenia gravis, the expression of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) in the thymus is under the control of the autoimmune regulator protein (AIRE), and polymorphisms in the AChR correlate with early onset of disease. In some 'AChR seronegative' patients, thymic abnormalities associated with complement-activating antibodies binding only clustered AChRs have been demonstrated, and in others anti-muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) antibodies that show pathogenic effects in vivo. In Guillain-Barré syndrome, newly described antibodies bind to complex gangliosides. General immunosuppression is still the main treatment, but novel treatments that reduce complement-mediated damage or inhibit the binding of pathogenic antibodies are beginning to look promising.
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spelling oxford-uuid:804935e6-db2a-443e-bd14-0d0ac31cd3542022-03-26T21:22:09ZAutoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.Journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:804935e6-db2a-443e-bd14-0d0ac31cd354EnglishSymplectic Elements at Oxford2009Lang, BVincent, AThe neuromuscular junction lies beyond the protection of the blood-brain barrier and is particularly vulnerable to antibody-mediated attack. In myasthenia gravis, the expression of acetylcholine receptors (AChRs) in the thymus is under the control of the autoimmune regulator protein (AIRE), and polymorphisms in the AChR correlate with early onset of disease. In some 'AChR seronegative' patients, thymic abnormalities associated with complement-activating antibodies binding only clustered AChRs have been demonstrated, and in others anti-muscle-specific kinase (MuSK) antibodies that show pathogenic effects in vivo. In Guillain-Barré syndrome, newly described antibodies bind to complex gangliosides. General immunosuppression is still the main treatment, but novel treatments that reduce complement-mediated damage or inhibit the binding of pathogenic antibodies are beginning to look promising.
spellingShingle Lang, B
Vincent, A
Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.
title Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.
title_full Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.
title_fullStr Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.
title_full_unstemmed Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.
title_short Autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction.
title_sort autoimmune disorders of the neuromuscular junction
work_keys_str_mv AT langb autoimmunedisordersoftheneuromuscularjunction
AT vincenta autoimmunedisordersoftheneuromuscularjunction