Experimental autoimmune myasthenia: a model of myasthenia gravis in rats and guinea pigs

Abstract

Immunization of animals with acetylcholine receptor (AChR) protein from the electric organs of Electrophorus electricus and Torpedo californica induces an autoimmune response to the AChR of mammalian skeletal muscle. Rats and guinea pigs develop experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) after a single inoculation with small quantities of AChR and adjuvant. The incidence and severity of disease appears to depend on the dose of AChR and stability of the emulsion. EAMG is strikingly similar to myasthenia gravis (MG) of man in its clinical picture and its electrophysiological abnormalities. The presence of antibodies to syngeneic rat muscle AChR in the serum of rats with EAMG documents the existence of autoimmunity in the experimental disease. A common immunopathogenesis is suggested for both EAMG and MG.