Abstract

Rani Wardani Hakim, Desak Gede Budi Krisnamurti, Radiana Dhewayani Antarianto, Siti Farida, Erni Hernawati Purwaningsih, Jan Sudir Purba*

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Myasthenia gravis (MG) is one of the autoimmune disease for which the target autoantigen, the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) of the neuromuscular junctions (NMJ). A number of molecules, including ion channels and other proteins at the neuromuscular junction, may be targeted by autoantibodies leading to abnormal neuromuscular transmission and produces symptomatic weakness that predominates in certain muscle groups and typically fluctuates in response to effort and rest. Treatment of MG involves the use of drugs standards for MG can only last for short time, and enormously high cost of treatment. By most ethnicities and cultures plants have been used as medicines throughout recorded human history. For this study of experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) is used rocuronium, prostigmine and Acalypha indica Linn (AI) compared with expression of AchR. Results: Results of this study found that induction by rocuronium injection to animal model MG as competitive antagonist for acetylcholine receptor showed reduction of AChR expression in comparison to normal group. Preventive treatment with prostigmine showed increased AChR expression in comparison to MG induction group. Curative treatment with prostigmine showed decreased AChR expression in comparison to MG induction group and is lower than the normal group. Preventive treatment with Al extract showed comparable level of AChR expression as MG induction group. Curative treatment with Al extract showed decreased AChR expression in comparison to MG induction group as well as normal group. However, AChR expression by curative Al extract is at comparable level as curative prostigmine. Conclusion: Results of this study used prostigmine as a preventive therapy which afterwards given rocuronium, amount of AChR did not differ significantly. Likewise, AI given as a curative therapy is also not significantly different from the effect of prostigmine. As a conclution the use of AI as a preventive or curative therapy indicates that AI has an effect similar to the effect prostigmine which can prevent a decrease in AChR in rats induced by rocuronium. Our results clearly demonstrate Acalypha indica Linn as a promising candidate for the new drug for myasthenia gravis.