Abstract
Purpose of Review: At present, the most common diagnostic measures for the autoimmune neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis (MG) are radioimmunoprecipitation assay (RIPA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and cell-based assay (CBA). Considering the pitfalls of these diagnostic assays, this review describes the advantages of using Xenopus tissue cultures for MG diagnosis and research.
Recent Findings: Our recent study described a novel CBA involving Xenopus tissue cultures for MG serological diagnosis. Moreover, this CBA can potentially be applied to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms underlying acetylcholine receptor endocytosis and degradation and to develop and validate potential therapeutic strategies for MG.
Summary: Although most CBAs are relatively labor intensive, Xenopus CBA is a promising tool for the initial clinical serological diagnosis and for the pathological research of MG. The future studies will be devoted to gain a better understanding of the etiology of MG and to provide a therapeutic intervention for this disease.
Recent Findings: Our recent study described a novel CBA involving Xenopus tissue cultures for MG serological diagnosis. Moreover, this CBA can potentially be applied to elucidate the pathogenic mechanisms underlying acetylcholine receptor endocytosis and degradation and to develop and validate potential therapeutic strategies for MG.
Summary: Although most CBAs are relatively labor intensive, Xenopus CBA is a promising tool for the initial clinical serological diagnosis and for the pathological research of MG. The future studies will be devoted to gain a better understanding of the etiology of MG and to provide a therapeutic intervention for this disease.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 57–65 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Current Pathobiology Reports |
| Volume | 5 |
| Early online date | 20 Jan 2017 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2017 |
User-Defined Keywords
- Xenopus
- Tissue culture
- Neuromuscular junction
- Acetylcholine receptor
- Myasthenia gravis
- Cell-based assay