[Pubmed] Identification and characteristics of a novel CD8alphaalpha T cell subset in a refractory myasthenia gravis pat

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J Neuroimmunol. 2025 Feb 8;400:578551. doi: 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2025.578551. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that impairs neuromuscular transmission. Autoantibodies and cellular immunity mediate the immunopathology of MG, yet the mechanism of CD8+ T cells in this process remains elucidated. In this study, we discovered a novel subset of CD8αα+ T cells in the peripheral blood of an 18-year-old Chinese man diagnosed as MG, who has undergone thymectomy and persistent myasthenia crisis. Designated as CD161neg T cell, this subset was characterized by TCRαβ+CD8αα+PLZF+Vα7.2+ but notably lacked CD161, distinct from mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells known for high CD161. The patient exhibited unusually high levels of CD161neg T cells compared to other MG patients, which fluctuated with infections but not MG severity. RNA sequencing revealed that CD161neg T cells lacked the genes characteristic of mature MAIT cells including CCR6, CXCR6, ZBTB16, and IL18RAP, but expressed cytotoxic T cell-related genes GZMH and IFNG. This study shed new light on the heterogeneity and complexity of CD8αα+ T cells in MG patients with thymoma.

PMID:39946853 | DOI:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2025.578551


Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3994685 ... t9+e462414