Cellular immune endophenotypes separating early and late-onset myasthenia gravis

Theorell J., Ruffin N., Fower A., Sorini C., Ambrose P., Damato V., Handunnetthi L., Leite I., Irani SR., Brauner S., Handel AE., Piehl F.

The 2 main subgroups of autoimmune myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular junction disorder associated with muscle weakness, are early- and late-onset forms, defined by onset before or after 50 years of age. Both carry acetylcholine-receptor autoantibodies but differ in sex ratios, genetics, and occurrence of disease-specific thymus inflammation. To distinguish the 2 forms by cellular immune phenotyping, we applied multimodal techniques, including deep spectral cytometric phenotyping and single-cell sequencing. Analysis of 2 independent cohorts identified immunological differences driven by 3 main lymphocyte populations. Lower frequencies of mucosa-associated invariant T cells and naive CD8 + T cells were observed in late-onset myasthenia, suggesting enhanced immune senescence. A highly differentiated, canonical NK cell population was reduced in early-onset myasthenia and negatively correlated with the degree of thymic hyperplasia. Using only the frequency of these 3 populations, correct myasthenia subgroup assignment could be predicted with 90% accuracy. These distinct immunocellular endophenotypes for early- and late-onset disease suggest differences in immunopathogenic processes. Along with demographic factors and other disease subgroup–specific features, the frequency of the identified cell subpopulations may improve clinical classification.

DOI

10.1172/jci.insight.199679

Type

Journal article

Publisher

American Society for Clinical Investigation

Publication Date

2026-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

11

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