Arthritis Res Ther. 2012 Jan 23;14(1):101. doi: 10.1186/ar3525.
Human cytomegalovirus is a common herpesvirus that is linked to autoimmunity, especially in genetically predisposed persons. The article by Hsieh and colleagues in a previous issue of suggests that a C-terminal peptide of the human cytomegalovirus protein pp65 is highly immunogenic in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and that antibodies against this peptide cross-react with nuclear proteins and double-stranded DNA, which are highly frequent autoantibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. These observations highlight the fact that immunization with one small cytomegalovirus-specific peptide results in multiple autoreactive antibodies, probably through molecular mimicry and epitope spreading, in genetically predisposed persons.
人巨细胞病毒是一种常见的疱疹病毒，与自身免疫有关，特别是在遗传易感性个体中。Hsieh 及其同事在之前一期的文章中提出，人巨细胞病毒蛋白 pp65 的 C 末端肽在系统性红斑狼疮患者中具有高度免疫原性，并且针对该肽的抗体与核蛋白和双链 DNA 发生交叉反应，这些核蛋白和双链 DNA 是系统性红斑狼疮患者中高度常见的自身抗体。这些观察结果强调了一个事实，即通过分子模拟和表位扩展，用一种小的巨细胞病毒特异性肽进行免疫接种会导致遗传易感性个体中产生多种自身反应性抗体。
