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Anti‐Idiotypic Antibodies against the Receptor Antibodies in Myasthenia Gravis
Author(s) -
LEFVERT A. K.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3083.1981.tb00161.x
Subject(s) - myasthenia gravis , antibody , acetylcholine receptor , receptor , immunology , pathogenesis , cholinergic , medicine , endocrinology
Anti‐idiotypic antibodies were prepared against purified acetylcholine receptor antibodies from two patients with myasthenia gravis. The purified idiotypes did not crow‐react. Reaction with idiotypic from other patients were found in 8% and 37%, respectively, which suggest that shared idiotypic specificities occur. The anti‐idiotypic gm fractions had no receptor‐like activity and did not bind cholinergic ligands. Receptor antibodies from two mothers and their newborn children with neonatel myasthenia gravis showed marked differences in the reactions with an anti‐idiotypic antibody. This suggests that not passive transfer of maternal antibodies but a transient synthesis of a receptor antibody with a different specificity is an important factor in the pathogenesis of neonatal myasthenia gravis.