Abstract
EXPERIMENTAL autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) has been induced in rabbits1–4 guinea pigs5,6 rats4,6 and monkeys7 by injection of the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) isolated from electric fish. The experimental disease, together with the demonstration of humoral8–10 and cellular11 immune responses to AChR in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), verifies hypotheses12,13 about the immunopharmacological block of AChR in MG. An experimental model disease in mice is needed for studies of the genetic aspects of MG and the role of the thymus as a specific antigen target, and as a source for immunocompetent helper and suppressor cells. We describe here the induction of EAMG in several inbred strains of mice and demonstrate different susceptibility to the disease in strains representing different haplotypes of the major histocompatibility complex (H-2). We describe some humoral and cellular aspects of the disease and demonstrate that in a susceptible mouse strain both humoral and cellular immune response to self-AChR are elicited. Finally we show that AChR behaves as a thymus-dependent antigen.
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FUCHS, S., NEVO, D., TARRAB-HAZDAI, R. et al. Strain differences in the autoimmune response of mice to acetylcholine receptors. Nature 263, 329–330 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/263329a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/263329a0
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