Persistent infection with Theiler's virus leads to CNS autoimmunity via epitope spreading
Author: ["Stephen D. Miller","Carol L. Vanderlugt","Wendy Smith Begolka","Winnie Pao","Robert L. Yauch","Katherine L. Neville","Yael Katz-Levy","Ana Carrizosa","Byung S. Kim"]
Publication: Nature Medicine
CITE.CC academic search helps you expand the influence of your papers.
Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a T cell-mediated autoimmune demyelinating disease1, which may be initiated by a virus infection2. Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), a natural mouse pathogen, is a picornavirus that induces a chronic, CD4+ T cell-mediated demyelinating disease with a clinical course and histopathology similar to that of chronic progressive MS (ref. 3). Demyelination in TMEV-infected mice is initiated by a mononu-clear inflammatory response mediated by virus-specific CD4+ T cells targeting virus, which chronically persists in the CNS (ref. 4–6). We show that beginning 3–4 weeks after disease onset, T-cell responses to multiple myelin autoepitopes arise in an ordered progression and may play a pathologic role in chronic disease. Kinetic and functional studies show that T-cell responses to the immunodominant myelin proteolipid protein epitope (PLP139–151) did not arise because of cross-reactivity between TMEV and self epitopes (that is, molecular mimicry)7, 8, but because of de novo priming of self-reactive T cells to sequestered autoantigens released secondary to virus-specific T cell-mediated demyelination (that is, epitope spreading)9, 10. Epitope spreading is an important alternate mechanism to explain the etiology of virus-induced organ-specific autoimmune diseases.
Cite this article
Miller, S., Vanderlugt, C., Begolka, W. et al. Persistent infection with Theiler's virus leads to CNS autoimmunity via epitope spreading. Nat Med 3, 1133–1136 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1097-1133
