Negative selection, epitope mimicry and autoimmunity.

Negative selection, epitope mimicry and autoimmunity. Curr Opin Immunol. 2017 Nov 02;49:51-55 Authors: Rose NR Abstract Infections often precede the onset of autoimmune disease and molecular (or epitope) mimicry is a plausible link. Cross-reacting epitopes are common between an infecting microorganism and the host because negative selection of self-reactive T-cells and B-cells is frequently incomplete. Complete eradication could lead to major voids in the immunologic repertoire. The association of an autoimmune disease with a microbial epitope may signify a causal relationship with the organism, an indirect connection through bystander effects, persistent infection or coincidence. There are well-established examples of a microbial mimic inducing a defined model of autoimmune disease in experimental animals but such instances are still relatively rare in humans. Establishing epitope mimicry as a direct cause opens opportunities for preventing the disease. Current approaches to cancer immunotherapy provides new examples of epitope mimicry between cancer antigens and normal tissue antigens. PMID: 29102863 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Current Opinion in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Tags: Curr Opin Immunol Source Type: research