title: Molecular mimicry or structural mimicry?
abstract: "Molecular mimicry" should be changed to "structural mimicry". The immune system recognizes shapes--three-dimensional shapes--not sequences. For two sequences to act biologically similar they must possess similar three-dimensional structures.
authors.forename: Fred C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Westall
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D018716:Molecular Mimicry / Q000276:immunology*; D011487:Protein Conformation