Complement activation in myasthenia gravis plasma by Torpedo acetylcholine receptor liposomes

The purpose of this study was to determine if antibodies from patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) react in a biologically relevant manner with membrane bound Torpedo californica acetylcholine receptor (AChR). Antibody-mediated complement activation was measured in plasma from 15 patients with MG and 9 controls following incubation with Torpedo AChR-rich membrane vesicles (AChR liposomes). Significantly more (p less than 0.001) complement activation occurred in the patient samples compared with the controls. Torpedo AChR liposomes are well characterized and have been widely used to study the structure and function of AChR. These results suggest that Torpedo AChR liposomes may also be used in immunologic studies with autoantibodies from patients with MG.