title: Humoral autoimmune response in Chagas' disease: Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomal antigens as immunizing agents.
abstract: Molecular expression cloning techniques have revealed that patients with chronic Chagas' heart disease (cChHD) present a strong humoral response against the cloned C-terminal portions of the four Trypanosoma cruzi ribosomal P proteins TcP1, TcP2 alpha (TcP2b), TcP2 beta (TcPJL5), and TcP0. This protein family presents several features that may be important in the immunopathology of Chagas disease. Their exposed location on the ribosome, and the amplification of their parasite-specific, Ser free C-terminal domain, generate a strong anti-parasite P response that may induce anti-P autoimmunity. Evidences indicate that the serological pattern of the anti-P response from chagasic patients may be the consequence of a chronic immunization with T. cruzi ribosomal antigens.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular (INGEBI), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Levin
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kaplan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Arteman
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Panebra
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000276:immunology*; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D002598:Chagas Cardiomyopathy / Q000276:immunology; D014355:Chagas Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003429:Cross Reactions / Q000276:immunology; D000939:Epitopes / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D014349:Trypanosoma cruzi / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D001323:Autoantibodies; D000939:Epitopes; C064601:L12E protein, Trypanosoma cruzi; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D012269:Ribosomal Proteins