Thymus gland
Thymus gland is an important organ lying in the chest just beneath the breastbone. It plays a crucial role in the development of the immune cells in the early life of an individual. The cells from thymus gland become a part of the normal immune system cells. Thymus gland is somewhat bigger in size in infants and gradually grows until puberty. After puberty, the gland starts to get smaller and the fat tissues replace it with age. However, in myasthenia gravis patients thymus gland tends to remain abnormally large. Thymus gland contains groups of immune cells which indicate the condition of lymphoid hyperplasia commonly occurring in lymph nodes and spleen only due to an activated immune response.
The researchers are working to understand the relationship between myasthenia gravis and the thymus gland because they believe that the thymus gland might pass incorrect signals to the developing immune cells. The faulty information passing through the thymus gland ultimately leads to the making of acetylcholine receptor antibodies and autoimmune responses in the body. Therefore, the autoimmunity originating from the thymus gland sets the stage for the immune system attack on neuromuscular transmission between the nerves and skeletal muscles. In addition, some patients having myasthenia gravis might develop tumors of the thymus gland which are typically benign but they can become cancerous.