Autoimmune ovarian disease: mechanism of disease induction and prevention.

Investigation of the versatile models for autoimmunity of the ovary and other selected organs has contributed to our understanding of the following aspects of autoimmunity: the mechanism of T cell molecular mimicry; T-->B epitope spreading, as a basis for autoantibody diversification, and as a link between organ-specific and systemic autoimmunity; the localization of genetic loci potentially influencing multiple autoimmune diseases; and the elucidation of regulatory T cells as a component of physiological self tolerance.