The Role of the Thymus in Immune Process*

Good, Robert A.; Cooper, Max D.; Peterson, Reece L.; Kellum, Michael J.; Sutherland, David E.R.; Gabrielsen, A E

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1966.tb45494.x

Cited by 20 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The affected thymus secretes abnormal amounts of a humoral substance (thymin) which causes the neuromuscular block and thus is responsible for the myasthenic symptoms. Thymectomy im proves the clinical state of most myasthenic patients [3,9,19,22,27,32], Many experimental studies in animals show that thymectomy increas es the occurrence of malignant tumors [9,10,33,34] and that animals can be protected by reimplantation of the thymus or even by injecting a thymic humoral factor [34]. However, other experimental evidence points to the opposite effect [2,10,20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Autoimmune diseases are associated with thymic pathology and with an abnormal immune mechanism [3,10,13,23], Malignancy, especially involving the lymphoreticular system, is more common in patients with autoimmune diseases than in normal controls [10,13,21,24], An animal experimental model which emphasizes the above points is the NZB strain of mice which develops spontaneously an SLE-like au toimmune disease and in which a high incidence of lymphomas is ob served. In these animals thymus pathology and an abnormal immune mechanism are commonly found [10,13].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is mainly responsible for cellular immunity but has a definite effect on humoral immunity as well [10,11,13,25,34], Abnormal function of the thymus may cause immune deficiency states or cellular-humoral im munologic imbalance. These conditions are thought to influence the ap pearance of both malignancy and autoimmune diseases [8,10,12,23,[30][31][32], G atti and G ood [8| demonstrated that the occurrence of malig nancy, especially of the lymphoreticular system, is 10,000 times higher in patients with immune deficiency than in an age and sex-matched con trol group. Lymphomas occur in a very high rate in patients with renal transplants while on immunosuppressive therapy [12].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Association between Myasthenia Gravis and Malignant Lymphoma

Levo¹,

Kott²,

Atsmon³

1975

Eur Neurol

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A reticulum cell sarcoma was diagnosed in a myasthenic patient 14 years after the first manifestations of myasthenia gravis. The association of myasthenia and malignancy, especially lymphoreticular, is discussed in view of an increasing number of similar reports in the literature. It is suggested that autoimmune diseases, myasthenia gravis and malignant processes might have a common underlying abnormal immune state related to thymic pathology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Association between Myasthenia Gravis and Malignant Lymphoma

Levo¹,

Kott²,

Atsmon³

1975

Eur Neurol

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The Spectrum of Diseases Associated With Thymoma

Souadjian¹

1974

Arch Intern Med

295

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Lymphocytes of Patients With Myasthenia Gravis

Namba¹

1969

Arch Neurol

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ERUM globulin, particularly the IgG fraction, of patients with myasthenia gravis reacts with skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and thymic epithelial cells, as well as nuclei of various tissues.1-7 These findings indicate a possible role of the serum globulin in the pathogenesis of myasthenia gravis. However, there is no evidence that the serum globulin is directly responsible for the neuromuscular block in myasthenic patients; in fact, after administration of serum from patients with high titers of muscle antibody to other myasthenic patients, neuromuscular transmission improved, suggesting that the globulin may exert a protective effect.8,9There have been only a few studies on lymphocytes in myasthenia gravis. Tissue culture of lymphocytes of myasthenic patients responded normally in deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis and blast transformation to stimulation by phytohemagglutinin,10 responses considered to be indicative of the immunological competence of lymphocytes. Delayed hypersensitivity induced by 1-chloro-2, 4-dinitrobenzene, which is mediated by lymphocytes, has been reported to be either reduced11 or normal12 in patients with myas¬ thenia gravis.We have found that lymphocytes of myas¬ thénie patients caused a more severe system¬ ic graft-versus-host reaction in mice than normal human lymphocytes.13 In the pres¬ ent study, the local effect of lymphocytes of patients with myasthenia gravis on rats has been evaluated. Materials and MethodsCirculating lymphocytes were isolated by ster¬ ile procedures from the blood of myasthénie patients, normal humans, and rabbits, according to the method of Coulson and Chalmers.14 Isolated lymphocytes with a purity of 96% to 99% were resuspended to a final concentration of 15,000 cells per cubic millimeter in medium 199, a culture medium with known chemical composition. Suspensions of erythrocytes from myasthénie patients and from normal humans were prepared during the isolation of lympho¬ cytes, and the erythrocyte concentration in medium 199 was adjusted to the concentration of the lymphocyte suspension. Serum was sepa¬ rated from coagulated blood by centrifugation.The patients studied in this investigation are described in Table 1. Prior to obtaining blood, medication was withheld for at least 12 hours, and, when necessary, respiration was supported mechanically. Normal human blood was ob¬ tained from one woman and four men, age 22 to 43 years. Blood was also obtained from five normal rabbits and four rabbits that had been immunized with a saline extract of rat skeletal muscle. The extract was the supernatant ob¬ tained by centrifugation for 15 minutes at 13,-000 X g of a homogenate of a mixture of one part by weight of rat skeletal muscle and five parts by volume of physiologic saline. Equal volumes of the extract and Freund's complete adjuvant were mixed, and 0.2 ml of the mixture was injected into the footpads of rabbits once every two weeks for 12 weeks. An additional intravenously administered booster injection of 0.5 ml of extract was given one week before obtaining blo...

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The Role of the Thymus in Immune Process*

Cited by 20 publications

References 28 publications

Association between Myasthenia Gravis and Malignant Lymphoma

Association between Myasthenia Gravis and Malignant Lymphoma

The Spectrum of Diseases Associated With Thymoma

Lymphocytes of Patients With Myasthenia Gravis

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