| Project/Area Number |
23790995
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
|
| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
|---|
| Research Field |
Neurology
|
|---|
| Research Institution | The University of Tokushima |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
MATSUI Naoko 徳島大学, 病院, 診療支援医師 (10547954)
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2011 – 2012
|
| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2012)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,380,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥780,000)
Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2011: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | 神経病態免疫学 / 重症筋無力症 / 胸腺 / ハッサル小体 / 制御性T細胞 / B細胞 |
|---|
| Research Abstract |
Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a neurological autoimmune disease caused by autoantibodies against components of the neuromuscular junction. The thymus is implicated as a site that triggers autoimmunity in MG. The medulla of the thymus provides central self-tolerance in terms of the deletion of autoreactive T cells and the generation of regulatory T cells (Treg). However, our previous study showed that the cellularity of Treg in the thymus and the circulation was not diminished in MG patients. Hassall’s corpuscles (HCs) are assumed to represent the terminal differentiated stage of thymic epithelial cells (mTECs). We examined the HCs in the thymus. Multicolor immunohistofluorescence analysis of involucrin, CD4, and CD8 was performed in the thymic sections obtained from MG(+) (n=27) and MG (-) patients (n=24). HCs were identified to be involucrin (+) concentric cellular clusters. The number of HCs per medullary area was significantly elevated in the thymus of MG patients who exhibited the thymic hyperplasia. CCL21 expression was also increased in the thymus of those patients. We speculate that altered differentiation of mTECs may be associated with thymic hyperplasia and the onset of MG.
|
