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Updated: Mar 7, 2026
Subcutaneous Administration of Muscarinic Antagonists and Triple-Immunostaining of the Levator Auris Longus Muscle in Mice
Published on: September 8, 2011
Non-neuronal cholinergic activity is potentiated in myasthenia gravis
Bin Han1, Chao Zhang1, Shoufeng Liu2
1Department of Neurology, Tianjin Neurological Institute, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, 300052, China.
Background:
Non-neuronal acetylcholine (ACh) restricts autoimmune responses and attenuates inflammation by cholinergic anti-inflammation pathway. To date, the implication of ACh in myasthenia gravis (MG) remained unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the possible relationship between ACh levels, anti-muscle-specific tyrosine kinase (MuSK) antibody titers, main clinical features and outcomes of MG patients.
Methods:
We successfully measured ACh levels in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 125 MG patients and 50 matched healthy controls by using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). We assessed the quantitative MG (QMG) scores for each patient and titered anti-MuSK antibody.
Results:
We found that PBMC-derived ACh level was significantly higher in MG patients, especially in patients of class III, IV-V, compared with that in controls (0.142 ± 0.108 vs. 0.075 ± 0.014 ng/million cells, p = 0.0003) according to the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America clinical classification. Importantly, we also found that ACh levels were positively correlated with QMG scores (r = 0.83, p < 0.0001) and anti-MuSK Ab levels (r = 0.85, p < 0.0001).
Conclusions:
Our demonstration of elevated ACh levels in PBMCs of MG patients foreshadows potential new avenues for MG research and treatment.
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