Northwestern Medicine Scientists Uncover Hidden Immune Environment in Myasthenia Gravis Patients' Thymuses
Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified a previously unknown immune environment within the thymus glands of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG), a chronic autoimmune disease causing muscle weakness and fatigue. This discovery, detailed in Science Advances, suggests that the thymus may foster an abnormal immune setting that allows certain B cells to survive and persist, even after the thymus is surgically removed. The research involved analyzing 23 thymus samples from 16 patients, utilizing advanced technologies like single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics to create the most comprehensive cellular and spatial map of the MG thymus to date. The study found a diverse population of class-switched B cells clustered around abnormal germinal centers, which appear to rely on survival signals from BAFF and BCMA molecules, rather than traditional immune regulation. This finding challenges previous understandings that attributed MG solely to harmful antibodies and offers new insights into why ... 
