Subsets of lymphoid cells in blood and thymus in myasthenia gravis : Monoclonal Antibody Analysis

Lymphoid cell subpopulations in peripheral blood and thymus were analyzed in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) using monoclonal antibodies. The proportion of lymphocytes of T lineage (OKT 3 +, OKT 4 +, OKT 8 + cells) in peripheral blood of 11 MG patients, was significantly decreased in comparison with controls, but the ratio of OKT 4+/OKT 8+ cells was not different. Thymus cells were studied in 9 patients. The percentage of OKIa 1 + cells was significantly higher in MG thymus than in control thymus (P < 0.0005). There were no significant differences in the proportions of T lymphocyte subsets between MG and control thymuses.