Thymus and Myasthenia Gravis: What can we learn from DNA microarrays?

This review is dedicated to John Newsom-Davis, who was an exceptional colleague and friend, always exchanging ideas with respect and consideration. We shall not forget his involvement and passion in search for the truth on the role of thymectomy in the management of Myasthenia Gravis (MG). In this short review, we shall summarize what we learnt from DNA microarrays applied to MG thymus. We shall focus on three main comparisons of the thymic transcriptomes: 1) highly hyperplastic MG patients versus non-MG adults; 2) corticosteroid-treated versus untreated seropositive MG patients; and 3) seronegative versus seropositive MG patients.