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  • Title: How promiscuity promotes tolerance: the case of myasthenia gravis.
    Author: Kyewski B, Taubert R.
    Journal: Ann N Y Acad Sci; 2008; 1132():157-62. PubMed ID: 18567865.
    Abstract:
    Central T cell tolerance in the thymus plays a nonredundant role in preventing organ-specific autoimmunity. This role is largely attributable to promiscuous expression of tissue-restricted auto-antigens in medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs). The nascent T cell repertoire is exhaustively screened for potential autoreactivity against these ligands presented by mTECs. Failure of this screening process can result in organ-specific autoimmune diseases affecting single or multiple organs. Here we discuss how promiscuous expression of the acetylcholine receptor alpha-chain in the human thymus can potentially affect self-tolerance toward this well characterized auto-antigen and thus influence the disease course of myasthenia gravis.
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