Searching for the Cartilage-associated Mimicry Epitope in Adjuvant Arthritis

• Published in: Autoimmunity (Chur, Switzerland) Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 201 - 210
• Main Authors: van Bilsen, Jolanda H.M., Wagenaar-Hilbers, Josée P.A., Boot, Elmieke P.J., van Eden, Willem, Wauben, Marca H.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Informa UK Ltd 2002; Taylor & Francis; Taylor and Francis
• Subjects: Adjuvant Arthritis; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Arthritis, Experimental - immunology; Autoantigens - immunology; Bacterial Proteins - immunology; Biological and medical sciences; Cartilage - immunology; Chaperonin 60; Chaperonins - immunology; Cross Reactions; Epitopes, T-Lymphocyte; Flow Cytometry; General aspects; Immunopathology; Lymphocyte Activation; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 3 - immunology; Medical sciences; Molecular Mimicry; Molecular Sequence Data; Mycobacterium Tuberculosis; Peptide Fragments - immunology; Rats; Rats, Wistar; T Cell Epitopes; Autoimmunity; Animal model; Antigenic determinant; Rat; Pathogenesis; Rodentia; Autoantibody; Arthritis; Antigen; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Articular cartilage; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Mycobacteriales; Animal; T-Lymphocyte; Mycobacteriaceae; Bacteria; Actinomycetes; Molecular mimicry
• ISSN: 0891-6934; 1607-842X
• DOI: 10.1080/08916930290024188

Adjuvant arthritis (AA) is a T cell mediated disease which can be induced in genetically susceptible rats by immunization with heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis ( Mt ) suspended in incomplete Freund's adjuvant. The critical mycobacterial T cell epitope for the induction of AA was previously identified as residues 178-186 of the mycobacterial 65 kDa heat shock protein ( Mt. hsp65 178-186 ). It was suggested that the development of AA was due to molecular mimicry between a mycobacterial epitope and a cartilage-associated self-antigen. However, until now such cartilage-associated mimicry epitope has not been identified. In this study we designed a computer search profile to predict mimicry self-epitopes, and investigated whether one or more of these self-epitopes could serve as mimicry epitopes in AA. Although several of these self-epitopes were recognized by arthritogenic T cells, no cross-reactivity was found between T cells specific for these self-epitopes and Mt. hsp65 178-186 specific T cells.