Elevated frequencies of natural killer T lymphocytes in myasthenia gravis

T lymphocytes are considered to exert a regulatory function in the developm ent of antiacetylcholine receptor antibodies, but no clear T-cell alteratio ns in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) have yet been found. The authors report a significant increase of recently identified natural killer T lymp hocytes expressing T-cell receptor V alpha 24. A possible role in disease i nitiation or maintenance is suggested by the observed strong synthesis of i nterferon-gamma as well as of interleukin 4.