The Fusion Protein <scp>MuSK</scp>‐Fc Functions as a Decoy to Block the Binding of Anti‐<scp>MuSK</scp> Antibodies to <scp>MuSK</scp>
Muscle-specific tyrosine kinase antibody-positive myasthenia gravis (MuSKMG) is a rare subtype of MG that is often more refractory to immune treatment than acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody-positive MG. Therefore, novel therapeutic strategies are needed. We previously developed AChR-Fc, an Fc fusion protein that neutralises pathogenic autoantibodies and suppresses pathogenic B cells while preserving normal immunity, as a potential treatment for AChR antibody-positive MG. Subsequently, we conducted preliminary experiments on MuSK-Fc, a fusion protein targeting MuSKMG, using patient serum samples. This study examined whether MuSK-Fc binds to MuSK antibodies and inhibits MuSK antibody binding to MuSK. We found that MuSK-Fc specifically binds to MuSK antibodies and prevents their interaction with MuSK. These findings indicate that MuSK-Fc may neutralise pathogenic antibodies and suppress disease activity in MuSKMG.
Authors
- Akiyuki Uzawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9252-1863)
- Satoshi Kuwabara (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4716-8578)
- Hiroyuki Akamine
- Yosuke Onishi
- Manato Yasuda
- Hideo Handa
- Kentaro Kurumada
- Etsuko Ogaya
Institutions
- Chiba University (JP)
- University of the Ryukyus (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scandinavian Journal of Immunology
- Published
- 2025-05-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/sji.70033
- Primary Topic
- Myasthenia Gravis and Thymoma
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare