What is the concept of molecular mimicry?
Molecular mimicry is one of the leading mechanisms by which infectious or chemical agents may induce autoimmunity. It occurs when similarities between foreign and self-peptides favor an activation of autoreactive T or B cells by a foreign-derived antigen in a susceptible individual.
What is molecular mimicry in parasitology?
Abstract. Parasites that are molecular mimics express proteins which resemble host proteins. This resemblance facilitates immune evasion because the immune molecules with the specificity to react with the parasite also cross-react with the host’s own proteins, and these lymphocytes are rare.
What is an example of a viral infection applying molecular mimicry as a mechanism of autoimmune disease?
Further evidence of molecular mimicry due to the production of cross-reactive antibody includes infection with gram-negative bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Campylobacter jejuni.
What is molecular mimicry in vaccines?
Molecular mimicry refers to a significant similarity between certain pathogenic elements contained in the vaccine and specific human proteins.
Is rheumatic fever molecular mimicry?
Molecular mimicry is a hallmark of the pathogenesis of rheumatic fever where the streptococcal group A carbohydrate epitope, N-acetyl glucosamine, and the a-helical coiled-coil streptococcal M protein structurally mimic cardiac myosin in the human disease, rheumatic carditis, and in animal models immunized with …
Who discovered molecular mimicry?
“Molecular mimicry”: an evolving concept. In 1964, Damian formally used the term “molecular mimicry” to denote that existence of similar antigens expressed by infectious agents and their human hosts may facilitate microbes to avoid the host immune response [27].
What causes molecular mimicry?
Can the Covid vaccine trigger an inflammatory response?
The study, published online on Aug. 30, 2021, in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that 89 percent of patients with inflammatory conditions produced detectable antibodies in response to the vaccine. These responses differed by drug, however, and some participants produced low antibody levels.
How is rheumatic heart disease an example molecular mimicry?
Rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease (RF/RHD) is an example of molecular mimicry in which the response against Streptococcus pyogenes triggers autoimmune reactions with human tissues. The development of RHD involves a complex interplay of autoimmune reactions in which several major factors are implicated.
What is the molecular mimicry in pathogenesis of rheumatic fever?
What is viral mimicry?
Many viruses mimic host proteins to promote infections. Defeating mimicry is difficult for hosts because these virus genes can evolve rapidly to produce proteins that closely resemble those of the host, rendering them nearly ‘invisible.
What mimics Covid?
Respiratory syncytial virus, influenza and COVID-19 are all respiratory infections that share similar symptoms, except for the loss of taste or smell that can occur with COVID-19 ― unless there are complications. One of the hallmarks of the COVID-19 infection is the loss of smell and taste.
Can viruses mimic?
“Mimicry is a more pervasive strategy among viruses than we ever imagined,” Shapira says. “It’s used by all kinds of viruses, regardless of the size of the viral genome, how the virus replicates, or whether the virus infects bacteria, plants, insects or people.” But some types of viruses used mimicry more than others.
What is Vitus dance?
Vitus Dance, chorea minor, infectious chorea, or rheumatic chorea, a neurological disorder characterized by irregular and involuntary movements of muscle groups in various parts of the body that follow streptococcal infection. The name St.
What mimics rheumatic fever?
Group A streptococci (GAS) mimics human cardiac myosin in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and coxsackie viruses (CX) mimic actin in autoimmune myocarditis (AM).