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molecular mimicry

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molecular mimicry

Immunology A mechanism that may explain some forms of autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks self antigens that are structurally similar to nonself antigens
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
References in periodicals archive
Molecular mimicry and autoimmune liver disease: virtuous intentions, malign consequences.
The objective of this study was to verify the presence of the phenomenon of molecular mimicry between periodontal pathogens with human proteins.
Benvenga, "Injections of Clostridium botulinum neurotoxin A may cause thyroid complications in predisposed persons based on molecular mimicry with thyroid autoantigens," Endocrine, vol.
Our results supported the molecular mimicry hypothesis and might conclude that CagA antigen shared similar antigenic epitopes with GPIIb/IIIa instead of GPIb.
Considering molecular mimicry of human TIR domains as the mechanism for the immune modulatory effect of bacterial TIR containing domain proteins, TcpF's possible targets in the TLR2 dependent pathway are the TIR domains of TLR2, TLR1, TLR6, and MyD88 as well as MAL [4].
Studies on the Kilham rat virus (KRV) belonging to the same genus have suggested molecular mimicry [134] and initiation of innate immunity in the pancreatic lymph nodes [135].
The absolute mechanisms involved in pathogenesis of GBS are still unclear; however, the hypothesis put forward for the immunopathogenesis of GBS is the molecular mimicry between lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and ganglioside-like epitopes in host nerve cells, which leads to cross-reactivity of immune response following infection.
Molecular mimicry refers to sequence similarities between pathogen derived antigens and human or host native peptides such that a cross-reaction occurs.
(1994) Molecular mimicry between GQ1b ganglioside and lipopolysaccharide of Campylobacter jejuni isolated from patients with Fisher's syndrome.
Microbial antigens such as the EBV have been implicated to trigger autoimmune diseases via molecular mimicry. This occurs when the host's immune system recognizes amino acid sequences of microbial antigens and self tissue as the same complex.
Thus, an immune response against self antigens generated by T-cell activation against bacterial antigens (the molecular mimicry model), may account for the clinical observation (32).
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