A new approach to the treatment of myasthenia gravis

  Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease mediated by acetylcholine receptor antibodies, with a predominantly postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptor damage.  When the generalized myasthenia gravis progresses to myasthenia gravis crisis, the mortality rate is very high, between 20-25%. The key to treatment is how to quickly relieve respiratory muscle weakness symptoms and restore normal muscle conduction function. To restore normal muscle conduction function, AchR-Ab, complement and immune complexes must be cleared rapidly. Traditionally, large amounts of adrenocorticotropic hormones, cholinesterase inhibitors, immunosuppressants, and gammaglobulin are often given, but the onset of action is slow and complications are high.  Although plasma exchange (PE) can remove AchR-Ab, complement and immune complexes from plasma and rapidly restore acetylcholine receptor function, which can relieve muscle weakness in a short period of time, it also discards a large amount of albumin and coagulation factors and other beneficial components. In order to maintain the plasma colloid osmotic pressure and normal coagulation mechanism, equal amounts of albumin and plasma products must be supplemented, which is costly and has more infusion reactions and complications.  Immunosorbent (IA) is an adsorbent made by combining a highly specific antigen or antibody, or a substance with a specific physical or chemical affinity (ligand) with an adsorbent material (carrier). When whole blood or plasma is passed through this adsorbent, the corresponding disease-causing factors are selectively or specifically adsorbed and removed from the body for the purpose of blood purification and disease treatment. The clinical indications are basically the same, but IA has its unique advantages.  IA is more selective. The adsorbent is more selective for autoantibodies, alloantibodies and their immune complexes in plasma, and has less effect on normal plasma components such as coagulation factors, and does not affect the efficacy of concurrent drug therapy. The clearance rate is higher with a single treatment, with a single IA clearing 2-3 times the amount of antibodies than PE.  IA eliminates the need for supplemental replacement fluid avoiding complications associated with plasma input (e.g. viral hepatitis, AIDS, allergic reactions, etc.) and albumin replacement fluid (e.g. bleeding tendencies, infections, etc.) IA is more economical, with reusable adsorption columns that can be used multiple times for patients requiring repeated therapy at a relatively low price. Currently, the treatment of generalized myasthenia gravis by staphylococcal protein A immunosorbent is unanimously affirmed in China and abroad.  Staphylococcal protein A is a protein component found in the cell wall of most Staphylococcus aureus, and one molecule of SPA can bind to multiple immunoglobulins. the amino terminus of SPA has four highly homologous immunoglobulin Ig molecules in the Fc segment binding region, which can bind to IgG and IgG-containing immune complexes, which is a non-immunoreactive binding with high affinity and is clinically widely used.  Szprit et al. reported as early as 1985 that SPA could remove specific AChR antibodies from the serum of MG patients in vitro, and Somnier et al. subsequently compared the efficiency of SPA and tryptophan polyvinyl alcohol adsorbent materials for the removal of plasma AChR antibodies in vitro and found that SPA could adsorb 43% of AChR-Ab and IgG from the rated volume of plasma within 70 min, which was equivalent to plasma The adsorption efficiency of SPA was found to be equivalent to that of plasma replacement, whereas tryptophan polyvinyl alcohol adsorbed less well.  In clinical studies, several small reports have demonstrated the efficacy of SPA in the treatment of refractory or pre-critical MG patients, with a 71% and 82%-61% reduction in serum IgG and specific AChR antibodies, respectively, after adsorbing 1.5-2 plasma volumes per session and after several consecutive treatments. The study showed that the improvement of muscle strength in the treatment group was significantly higher than that in the control group.  This is a good indication that protein A adsorption not only improves symptoms but also significantly reduces immunoglobulins and AchR-Ab in the blood of MG patients, and that humoral immune disorders and AchR-Ab are the underlying causes of MG pathogenesis. kurkus et al. reported that in 2 cases of MG, neurological symptoms worsened even after methylprednisolone shock, cyclophosphamide shock, and plasma replacement, and after 4 weeks of treatment with I A instead The disease improved and serum AchR-Ab decreased by 60%-68%. Therefore, IA is considered safe and effective in the treatment of MG and is a life-saving method for refractory and critically ill patients.