Research progress on myasthenia gravis related autoantibody and detection approaches / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

ABSTRACT

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmue disease mediated mainly by humoral immunity, which is characterised by skeletal muscle weakness and fatigue. Its pathogensis is closely related to the autoantibodies against the postsynaptic membrane components at neuromuscular junction (NMJ), including acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody, muscle-specific receptor tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody, and low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 4 (LRP4) antibody. In recent years, autoantibodies against antigens such as agrin, collagen Q, and cortactin have been identified. Based on serum antibody patterns, MG can be divided into different subgroups AChR-MG, MuSK-MG, LRP4-MG and seronegative MG. The detection of autoantibody is vital in clinical for subgroup diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. With the development of medical techniques, the antibody detection approaches were improved, providing new opportunities for precise diagnosis and treatment of different subgroups. Thus, this paper reviewed the latest progress of MG autoantibody classification and the antibody detection approaches.