EUROMYASTHENIA [ www.euromyasthenia.org ] - Partenaires associés

Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is a well-defined antibody-mediated disease, but the pathogenic mechanisms at the effector organ (the thymus) and at the target organ (the muscle) are still puzzling. The thymus of most young patients is highly remodelled with the presence of numerous germinal centers. The scientific objectives of the team are to understand the mechanism of thymus remodelling and to explore the consequences of the autoimmune attack on the muscle function.
Our research projects aim to answer to the following questions:

Why are there changes in the thymus? In most young female patients, the thymus is pathologically enlarged due to inflammation of the tissue and the formation of centers filled with immune cells. We take advantage of technological advances to uncover molecules and study cells that are involved in the formation of these centers, with the aim of preventing their formation. We are devising new animal MG models that are based on mice with specific mutation in these molecules to ascertain their role in MG. Because MG associated with thymic changes occurs mostly in young women, we are investigating the female prevalence in the young MG population. To do so, we analyze the susceptibility to MG in mice with defects in sexual hormone production (collaboration with Prof. Sara Fuchs, Israel) and we explore the effect of the hormones on the different components of the autoimmune response. In addition, we are taking into consideration the autoimmune nature of MG to investigate the possible defect in immune regulation of the autoimmune attack by immune cells, at the level of the thymus, but also in the blood. We have observed a defect in cells involved in this regulation and are characterizing this defect.

What happens in the muscle of MG patients? We have demonstrated that there is a compensatory mechanism that takes place in MG muscle to remedy the damage induced by the anti-AChR antibodies. We are investigating what differs at the molecular level in muscle of patients with anti-AChR antibodies and those whose MG is mediated by other types of antibodies (collaboration with Prof. Marc de Baets, The Netherlands), always with the aim of identifying molecules that could be therapeutic targets.

Scheme of o ur working hypothesis

Beside this scientific aspect, Dr Berrih-Aknin team coordinates two projects financed by the European Community: EUROMYASTHENIA, a project to improve information and communication in MG disease (DG SANCO) and MYASTAID, a project consisting of the development of new in vitro and in vivo models to increase knowledge and understanding of MG mechanisms of pathogenicity (FP6 program).

Date de création : 26/01/2007 - 11:55 AM
Dernière modification : 31/10/2008 - 1:29 PM
Catégorie : Partenaires associés
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