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Thymic lymphocyte subpopulations in myasthenia gravis

Department of Neurology (Drs. Lisak, Zweiman, Moskovitz, and Guerrero) and the Allergy and Immunology Section of the Department of Medicine (Drs. Zweiman, Skolnik, Levinson, and Moskovitz), and the Henry M. Watts, Jr., Neuromuscular Disease Research Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

We compared the percentages of thymic mononuclear cells (TMC) that bind monoclonal antibodies to T-cell subpopulations in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and non-MG patients undergoing cardiac surgery (CS). There were no significant differences in percentages of OKT3⁺, OKT4⁺, OKT6⁺, or OKT8⁺ cells or the OKT4:OKTB ratio. There was an increase in the percentage of Ia⁺ (immune response gene-associated antigen) TMC in MG compared with CS but no significant differences in B cells or phagocytic cells. The Ia⁺ cells could be abnormal B cells, activated T cells, or thymic dendritic cells.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Lisak, Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

Supported by a grant from the Muscular Dystrophy Association

Accepted for publication October 25, 1982.