166
Views
12
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original

Infrequent and low AIRE expression in thymoma: Difference in AIRE expression among WHO subtypes does not correlate with association of MG

, , &
Pages 377-382 | Received 12 Dec 2007, Accepted 08 Feb 2008, Published online: 07 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Thymoma is frequently associated with autoimmune diseases, including myasthenia gravis (MG). The failure of thymoma microenvironment to induce T cell tolerance may be responsible for its association of MG. Autoimmune regulator (AIRE) expression in the medullary thymic epithelial cells has been reported to play a role in presenting autoantigen and induction of tolerance. We studied AIRE mRNA in 45 thymomas and three normal thymi using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Only 23/45 (51.1%) of thymomas expressed AIRE mRNA at low levels while all normal thymi expressed AIRE mRNA. There was no correlation between AIRE mRNA and association of MG or presence of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody. The infrequent and low expression of AIRE mRNA may play a role the induction of autoimmune diseases but other factors also seem to be involved.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr Masanobu Maeda for providing valuable normal thymus samples.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.