DETECTION AND EVALUATION OF THE IGG AUTOANTIBODY REPERTOIRE AGAINST HUMAN SKELETAL-MUSCLE ANTIGENS IN GRAVES-DISEASE

IgG autoantibody repertoires against human skeletal-muscle antigens we re investigated in sera of patients suffering from endocrine ophthalmo pathy (EOP) in Craves' disease and were compared with natural autoanti body repertoires in sera of healthy individuals (control group). The I gG autoantibodies could be detected by means of the Western blot techn ique. The blots were evaluated by means of ScanPacK digital image anal ysis and analysis of discriminance. Both the EOP and the control group s had complex staining patterns against skeletal-muscle antigens. IgC autoantibody repertoires of the EOP group, however, differed significa ntly from those of the control group (P<.001). Classification of unkno wn blots resulted in a correct assignment of 83%. Thus, the technique used in this study could demonstrate that in Graves' disease, IgG auto antibody repertoires differ from those in healthy individuals, not onl y against eye-muscle antigens but also against skeletal-muscle antigen s. These antibodies could play a significant role in the pathogenesis of this disease.