Autoantibodies to cortactin and agrin in sera of patients with myasthenia gravis

Kathrin Doppler; Antonia Hemprich; Axel Haarmann; Isabel Brecht; Maximilian Franke; Stephan Kröger; Carmen Villmann; Claudia Sommer

doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577588

Autoantibodies to cortactin and agrin in sera of patients with myasthenia gravis

J Neuroimmunol. 2021 Jul 15:356:577588. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577588. Epub 2021 Apr 30.

Authors

Kathrin Doppler¹, Antonia Hemprich², Axel Haarmann³, Isabel Brecht⁴, Maximilian Franke⁵, Stephan Kröger⁶, Carmen Villmann⁷, Claudia Sommer⁸

Affiliations

¹ University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Neurology, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
² University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Neurology, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Neurology, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Neurology, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.
⁵ University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Neurology, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Physiological Genomics, BioMedical Center, Großhaderner Str. 9, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Institute of Clinical Neurobiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Versbacher Str. 5, 97078 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁸ University Hospital Würzburg, Department of Neurology, Josef-Schneider-Str. 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 33962172
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2021.577588

Abstract

Autoantibodies against agrin and cortactin have been described in patients with myasthenia gravis. To further validate and characterize these autoantibodies, sera and/or plasma exchange material of 135 patients with myasthenia gravis were screened for anti-agrin or anti-cortactin autoantibodies. Autoantibodies against cortactin were detected in three patients and two controls and could be confirmed by cell-based assays using cortactin-transfected human embryonic kidney cells in both controls and one patient, but were not detectable in follow-up sera of the three patients. We did not detect any autoantibodies against agrin. The clinical phenotype of anti-cortactin-positive patients varied, arguing against a relevant pathogenic role.

Keywords: Agrin; Autoantibody; Cortactin; Myasthenia gravis.

MeSH terms

Aged
Agrin / blood*
Autoantibodies / blood*
Biomarkers / blood
Cortactin / blood*
Female
HEK293 Cells
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Myasthenia Gravis / blood*

Substances

Agrin
Autoantibodies
Biomarkers
CTTN protein, human
Cortactin