Ectopic and high CXCL13 chemokine expression in myasthenia gravis with thymic lymphoid hyperplasia

Shiao, Yu-Ming; Lee, Chin-Cheng; Hsu, Yung-Hsiang; Huang, Shiu-Feng; Lin, Chung-Yen; Li, Ling-Hui; Fann, Cathy S.-J.; Tsai, Chang-Youh; Tsai, Shih-Feng; Chiu, Hou-Chang

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2010.02.013

« Previous Next »Journal of Neuroimmunology
Volume 221, Issue 1 , Pages 101-106, 15 April 2010

Ectopic and high CXCL13 chemokine expression in myasthenia gravis with thymic lymphoid hyperplasia

Yu-Ming Shiao
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Division of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan
- These two authors contribute equally to this work.
Chin-Cheng Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- These two authors contribute equally to this work.
Yung-Hsiang Hsu
- Department of Pathology, Buddhist Tzu-Chi General Hospital and University Hualien, Taiwan
Shiu-Feng Huang
- Division of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan
Chung-Yen Lin
- Institute of Information Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Ling-Hui Li
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Cathy S.-J. Fann
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
Chang-Youh Tsai
- Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
Shih-Feng Tsai
- Faculty of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Division of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Taiwan
- Genome Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Corresponding authors. Tsai is to be contacted at Division of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 37 246166x35310; fax: +886 37 586459. Chiu, Department of Neurology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 28332211x2597; fax: +886 2 28389465.
Hou-Chang Chiu
- School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Neurology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Corresponding authors. Tsai is to be contacted at Division of Molecular and Genomic Medicine, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan, Miaoli County 350, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 37 246166x35310; fax: +886 37 586459. Chiu, Department of Neurology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 2 28332211x2597; fax: +886 2 28389465.

Received 29 June 2009; received in revised form 14 January 2010; accepted 15 February 2010. published online 11 March 2010.

Abstract

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an antibody and complement mediated autoimmune disease. Serum CXC chemokine ligand 13 (CXCL13) was found to be elevated in MG patients and high CXCL13 level was associated with severe clinical stages, especially in females with thymic lymphoid hyperplasia. Both protein and mRNA of CXCL13 and CXC chemokine receptor 5 (CXCR5) in the thymic tissues were significantly higher in MG patients with lymphoid hyperplasia than those with thymoma. Our data indicated that serum CXCL13 can be used as an index of disease severity and ectopic thymic expression of CXCL13 might be associated with aberrant cell trafficking to the thymus of MG.

Keywords: Myasthenia gravis, CXCL13, Chemokine, Gene expression microarray