Circulating regulatory anti–T cell receptor antibodies in patients with myasthenia gravis

HLA-DQ Polymorphism in Turkish Patients With Myasthenia Gravis

“…The frequently noted association of MG with ancestral DR3 haplotype, which was also recently applied to functional approaches for treatment of MG [29], was confirmed recently in the Turkish population [22]. Our data have extended this association to DQ loci with DQA and DQB alleles as the probably DR3-linked DQ2 alleles (DQA1 ‫ء‬ 02 or ‫ء‬ 0501 with DQB1 ‫ء‬ 02) are increased in MG in the Turkish population also (33.3% vs 22%, OR: 1.8).…”

Lamarckian inheritance by somatically acquired maternal IgG phenotypes

“…In early ontogeny, the immune system learns to accept autologous tissue constituents as 'self ', and this autotolerant state is normally maintained by several T celldependent mechanisms, including Tr cells [57]. However, during microbial infections or experimental immunization with autoantigens plus strong adjuvants, autoreactive T-and B-cell clones might escape normal regulation and switch to auto-aggressive T cells or the production of IgG autoantibodies, both of which participate in the induction of autoimmune diseases.…”

Immunomodulation by Immunopeptides and Autoantibodies in Aging, Autoimmunity, and Infection

“…11,16,17,22,27 On the basis of our findings in studies of rheumatoid arthritis and retroviral infections of humans and mice, we proposed that these antibodies directed against the VβCDR1 segments were part of an immunoregulatory process in which the body strove to downregulate T cells of an autodestructive character as defined by the overexpression of T cell subsets with varying particular Vβ gene products. 11 Studies by Jambeau and colleagues 28,29 -which reported that T cells of myasthenia gravis patients of the MHC class II DR3 haplotype showed a preferred restriction to Vβ5.1 and the levels of spontaneously arising autoantibodies to Vβ5.1 epitopes were inversely correlated with the severity of the disease-are also consistent with this hypothesis. Although these workers found autoantibodies to the CDR1 epitope, they found higher levels of autoantibodies to the CDR2 segment, and followed these in their investigations.…”

“…Spontaneously arising autoantibodies to the CDR1 segment downregulate TH1 activity, suggesting that a novel immunoregulatory mechanism acts in autoimmunity and normal immunization. Although we have focused on the VβCDR1 peptide in our studies, other workers have found spontaneously arising autoantibodies to the VβCDR2 segment in human autoimmune disease 28 and in rodent experimental autoimmunity. 30 The results of those studies are consistent with the model proposed here.…”