Eisen H, Kahn S
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington.
Curr Opin Immunol. 1991 Aug;3(4):507-10. doi: 10.1016/0952-7915(91)90012-p.
Chronic infection of mammals by Trypanosoma cruzi often results in severe autoimmune and inflammatory pathology. Extensive antigen cross-reactivity between the parasite and its mammalian hosts has also been reported. These findings have stimulated speculation that Trypanosoma cruzi uses antigenic mimicry as a mechanism for escaping the host immune system. This may not be the case and the observed antigen cross-reactivity may be a result of perturbations of the immune system such that common, normally tolerated antigens are recognized in infected animals. The parasite, however, does appear to use functional mimicry to survive in the immune competent host.
克氏锥虫对哺乳动物的慢性感染常导致严重的自身免疫和炎症病理。也有报道称寄生虫与其哺乳动物宿主之间存在广泛的抗原交叉反应。这些发现引发了一种推测，即克氏锥虫利用抗原模拟作为逃避宿主免疫系统的一种机制。情况可能并非如此，观察到的抗原交叉反应可能是免疫系统紊乱的结果，以至于在受感染动物中常见的、通常可耐受的抗原被识别出来。然而，寄生虫似乎确实利用功能模拟在具有免疫能力的宿主体内存活。
