Pathogen/Self antigens

[Guest guest]

ANyone have the full paper on this?? ..?

Infect Immun. 2007 May 21;

Pathogen specificity and autoimmunity are distinct features of

antigen driven immune responses in neuroborreliosis.

Kuenzle S , et al

Clinical Neuroimmunology Unit and Experimental Neuroimmunology Unit,

Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich,

Frauenklinikstrasse 26, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland.

Neuroborreliosis (NB) is a chronic infectious disease of the central

nervous system caused by a tick borne spirochaete, Borrelia

burgdorferi (Bb). In addition to direct effects of the causative

infectious agent, additional immune mediated mechanisms are thought

to play a role in the central nervous system (CNS) pathology of NB.

In order to further understand the involvement of humoral immune

mechanisms in NB, we dissected the intrathecal antibody responses

down to the single plasma cell level. Starting with single cell RT-

PCR of FACS sorted cerebrospinal fluid plasma cells from a NB

patient, we identified expanded clones and resurrected the antigen

specificity of their secreted antibodies through recombinant

expression of the correctly paired Ig heavy and light chain genes as

monoclonal antibodies (mAb).

As expected, we found specificity for the causative infectious agent

Bb among the clonally expanded plasma cell (cePC) derived mAb.

However, from an independent cePC of the same patient, we could

derive mAbs specific for human CNS myelin, without detectable

crossreactivity with Bb antigens.

While reactivity against Bb is a known feature of humoral immune

responses in NB, we show

a) that immune responses specific for self antigens may be a distinct

feature of CNS infections independent of pathogen reactivity

and that humoral autoimmunity in NB - since found in cePC - is the

result of a truly antigen driven immune response.

Our findings indicate that in NB mechanisms may be at play that

induce distinct immune responses specific for pathogen and self

antigens independent from " molecular mimicry " .

PMID: 17517881 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

[Guest guest]

That sounds cool. A lot of people have suspected that some of the

symptom burden of infectious diseases could be autoimmune in

mechanism. However, while abnormal degrees of autoimmunity can often

be demonstrated in infectious disease, there has not been much clear

evidence for their pathogenicity to my knowledge, except in syphilis

(cold hemoglobinuria, caused by antibodies against red cells),

rheumatic fever, and hep C (cryoglobulins).

Send me your email and I'll hit ya with the PDF.

>

> ANyone have the full paper on this?? ..?