1.
Science
; 281(5377): 703-6, 1998 Jul 31.
Artigo
em Inglês
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-9685265
RESUMO
Treatment-resistant Lyme arthritis is associated with immune reactivity to outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, and the major histocompatibility complex class II allele DRB1*0401. The immunodominant epitope of OspA for T helper cells was identified. A homology search revealed a peptide from human leukocyte function-associated antigen-1 (hLFA-1) as a candidate autoantigen. Individuals with treatment-resistant Lyme arthritis, but not other forms of arthritis, generated responses to OspA, hLFA-1, and their highly related peptide epitopes. Identification of the initiating bacterial antigen and a cross-reactive autoantigen may provide a model for development of autoimmune disease.