Updated Characterization of Clinical and Immunological Endotypes in Acetylcholine Receptor–Positive Myasthenia Gravis: Expanded Analysis of 601 Patients
Kfir Oved1, Galit Denkberg1, Lena Pinzur1, Inbar Arman1, Roei D. Mazor1, Sharon Reef1, Ofer Harel1, Shir Erez1, Yael Atiya1, Reem Dowery1, Konstantinos Lazaridis2, Adi Wilf-Yarkoni3
1Canopy Immuno-Therapeutics, Haifa, Israel, 2Dept. of Immunology, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece, 3Rabin Medical Center, Petach Tikva, Israel and Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University
Objective:

To expand the clinical-immunological characterization of acetylcholine receptor–positive Myasthenia Gravis (AChR⁺ MG) using an enlarged multicenter cohort of 601 patients.

Background:
AChR⁺ MG is a chronic antibody-mediated autoimmune disorder causing fluctuating muscle weakness due to AChR-targeting autoantibodies in the neuromuscular junction. Our previous study of 513 AChR⁺ MG patients identified two major endotypes distinguished by sex, age of onset, titer, thymic involvement and AChR subunit immunodominance. Here we present updated analyses incorporating additional patients and extended clinical data to strengthen these findings.
Design/Methods:

This ongoing large-scale, multicenter, cross-sectional study includes prospectively recruited AChR⁺ MG patients and biobank-derived serum samples meeting diagnostic criteria of clinical MG and anti-AChR IgG ≥0.5nM. Clinical data were correlated with total and subunit-specific anti-AChR titers, thymic histology, age, sex, and MGFA disease severity. Statistical correlations and unsupervised principal component analyses were used to define clinical–immunological associations and data clustering patterns.

Results:

The updated dataset includes 601 AChR⁺ MG patients (49% female; median age: 65.9 years). Anti-AChR titers correlated positively with disease severity and were significantly higher in female versus male patients (median 12.7nM vs. 7.8nM, p=0.0001). Alpha and gamma subunit immunodominance maintained their sex-related patterns, with males showing greater alpha immunodominance (median α%: 23% vs. 15.3%, p=0.0209) and females showing greater gamma immunodominance (median γ%: 29% vs. 23%, p=0.0029). Gamma immunodominance was also associated with higher titers and early-onset disease. Principal component analysis confirmed the previously reported two endotypes corresponding to early-onset, gamma-immunodominant, thymic-hyperplastic disease in females (Endotype A) and predominantly late-onset, alpha-immunodominant, lower-titer disease (Endotype B).

Conclusions:

Expanded analysis of 601 AChR⁺ MG patients further substantiates the existence of two MG endotypes with unique clinical and immunological profiles. These findings suggest distinct underlying etiologies with potential implications for sex-dependent precision medicine, women’s health, and the development of novel therapeutic approaches for MG.

10.1212/WNL.0000000000217256
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