Serological Immunoglobulin-Free Light Chain Profile in Myasthenia Gravis Patients

Journal of Immunology Research
Umberto BasileEmanuela Bartoccioni

Abstract

Serological levels of free immunoglobulin light chains (FLCs), produced in excess of heavy chains during synthesis of immunoglobulins by plasma cells, can be considered a direct marker of B cell activity in different systemic inflammatory-autoimmune conditions and may represent a useful predictor of rituximab (RTX) therapeutic efficacy, as reported for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease of the neuromuscular junction with antibodies (abs) targeting the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) or the muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK), inducing muscle weakness and excessive fatigability. As MG course may be remarkably variable, we evaluated the possible use of FLCs as biomarkers of disease activity. We assessed FLC levels in 34 sera from 17 AChR-MG and from 13 MuSK-MG patients, in comparison with 20 sera from patients with systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases and 18 from healthy blood donors, along with titers of specific auto-abs and IgG subclass distribution. We found a statistically significant increase in free κ chains in both AChR- and MuSK-MG patients, while free λ chain levels were increased only in AChR-MG. We also observed a significant reduction of both free...Continue Reading

References

Sep 10, 2002·Laboratory Investigation; a Journal of Technical Methods and Pathology·Flavia ScuderiEmanuela Bartoccioni
Mar 18, 2005·Annual Review of Immunology·Rudolf A ManzAndreas Radbruch
Mar 30, 2006·Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases·J-E GottenbergX Mariette
Mar 21, 2008·Trends in Pharmacological Sciences·Marco ThioFrank A Redegeld
Oct 24, 2008·Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN·Colin A HutchisonPaul Cockwell
Apr 21, 2009·European Journal of Neurology : the Official Journal of the European Federation of Neurological Societies·P TsiamalosS J Tzartos
Jul 15, 2009·Clinical Rheumatology·Gui-gao Lin, Jin-ming Li
Apr 21, 2010·European Journal of Neurology : the Official Journal of the European Federation of Neurological Societies·G O SkeieUNKNOWN European Federation of Neurological Societies
Feb 12, 2011·Arthritis Care & Research·Rohit AggarwalMeenakshi Jolly
Nov 1, 2011·Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine : CCLM·Yudong Liu, Jinming Li
Jan 6, 2012·Neurology·J Díaz-ManeraI Illa
May 25, 2012·The New England Journal of Medicine·David G Maloney
Nov 6, 2013·International Journal of Laboratory Hematology·A BurmeisterC A Hutchison
Dec 4, 2013·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Maartje G HuijbersJan J Verschuuren
Mar 29, 2014·Clinical and Experimental Immunology·A UzawaS Kuwabara
Jan 16, 2015·Medicine·Haoze ZhangQun Shi
Mar 25, 2015·Liver International : Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver·Umberto BasileAnna Linda Zignego
May 14, 2016·Scientific Reports·Akiyuki UzawaSatoshi Kuwabara
Jul 29, 2016·Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation. Supplementum·Paolo MilaniGiampaolo Merlini
Nov 29, 2016·PloS One·José Luis García de Veas SilvaRafael Duro Millán
Dec 29, 2016·The New England Journal of Medicine·Nils E Gilhus
Jan 4, 2017·Scientific Reports·Carl Johan MolinAnna Rostedt Punga
Jan 15, 2017·The Journal of Immunology : Official Journal of the American Association of Immunologists·Jason A Vander HeidenKevin C O'Connor
Jan 17, 2017·Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology·Marco LanzillottaJohn H Stone
Feb 7, 2017·Muscle & Nerve·Rup TandanDiantha B Howard
Mar 13, 2017·Journal of Neuroimmunology·Pooja RaibagkarJohn H Stone
Jun 28, 2017·Current Opinion in Neurology·Amelia Evoli
Sep 25, 2017·Muscle & Nerve·John S YiKevin C O'Connor

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Dec 19, 2018·BioFactors·Umberto BasileGian Ludovico Rapaccini
Apr 26, 2020·Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry·Umberto BasileMarcella Visentini
Jun 12, 2020·Immunological Investigations·Cecilia NapodanoUmberto Basile
Jul 16, 2020·Neurology. Neuroimmunology and Neuroinflammation·Adi Wilf-YarkoniArnon Karni
Oct 17, 2019·Clinical and Experimental Immunology·F GulliU Basile
May 3, 2021·Clinical and Experimental Immunology·Antonietta GiganteUmberto Basile
Aug 4, 2021·Clinical Neurology and Neurosurgery·Maria BelimeziGeorge P Chrousos

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases occur as a result of an attack by the immune system on the body’s own tissues resulting in damage and dysfunction. There are different types of autoimmune diseases, in which there is a complex and unknown interaction between genetics and the environment. Discover the latest research on autoimmune diseases here.

B cell Activation

B cell activation is initiated by the ligation of the B cell receptor with antigen and ultimately results in the production of protective antibodies against potentially pathogenic invaders. Here is the latest research.

B cell Differentiation

Depending on the signal received through the B cell receptor and other receptors, B cells differentiate into follicular or marginal zone B cells. Here is the latest research pertaining to this differentiation process.