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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Determination of the Relative Potency of an Anti-TNF Monoclonal Antibody (mAb) by Neutralizing TNF Using an In Vitro Bioanalytical Method
Published on: September 16, 2017
Tumour necrosis factor-alpha polymorphism and secretion in myasthenia gravis
D R Huang1, R Pirskanen, G Matell
1Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Hospital, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
The mechanism behind the association between MHC genes and myasthenia gravis (MG) is not fully understood. In the present study we studied the associations with polymorphisms at HLA-DR3, HLA-B8 and TNF-alpha genes in Swedish patients and healthy individuals. The TNF-alpha-308 allele 2 was associated with female patients having disease onset before the age 40 and with thymic hyperplasia. Analysis of strongest associations between MG and alleles close to TNF-alpha indicated that the association of TNF-alpha was possibly stronger than for HLA-DR3 and nearly the same as for HLA-B8. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients positive for TNF-alpha -308 allele 2 had higher secretion of TNF-alpha when stimulated by anti-CD3 antibodies. Our results indicate that a subgroup of MG patients who have been previously shown to be associated with MHC genes may have a higher inducible TNF-alpha level in vivo, thus resulting the pathological changes in the thymus and the early onset of MG.
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