Thyroid autoantigens and human T cell responses

HLA-DQ-regulated T-cell responses to islet cell autoantigens insulin and GAD65.

HLA-DQ is strongly associated with genetic predisposition to type 1 diabetes. It is assumed that HLA-DQ molecules exert their effects on the disease via the presentation of peptides from islet autoantigens to CD4(+) T-cells, but little information regarding HLA-DQ-restricted, islet antigen-specific, autoreactive T-cells is available. To investigate the role of HLA-DQ in the immune response to i...

Cytotoxic T-Cell Markers and Cytokines in Human Papillomavirus 16

Background and Aim: Cervical cancer is the fourth main cause of mortality among women, and annually about half a million new cases are detected in developed countries. Based on oncological studies, human papillomavirus (HPV) is classified into two categories: high-risk type and low-risk type, and most cases are related to the high-risk type of human papillomavirus. HPV 16 and 18 are among the m...

Determinant Spreading of  T Helper Cell 2 (Th2) Responses to Pancreatic Islet Autoantigens

The nature (Th1 versus Th2) and dynamics of the autoimmune response during the development of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and after immunotherapy are unclear. Here, we show in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice that the autoreactive T cell response starts and spreads as a pure Th1 type autoimmunity, suggesting that a spontaneous Th1 cascade underlies disease progression. Surprisingly, ...

Evidence for molecular mimicry between human T cell epitopes in rotavirus and pancreatic islet autoantigens.

In type 1 diabetes, insulin-producing beta cells in the islets of the pancreas are destroyed by autoreactive T cells. Rotavirus (RV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes. Peptides in VP7, a major immunogenic protein of RV, have high sequence similarity to T cell epitope peptides in the islet autoantigens tyrosine phosphatase-like insulinoma Ag 2 (IA2) and glutamic acid dec...

T Cell Responses in Human Leprosy