title: The role of infections in autoimmune disease.
abstract: Autoimmunity occurs when the immune system recognizes and attacks host tissue. In addition to genetic factors, environmental triggers (in particular viruses, bacteria and other infectious pathogens) are thought to play a major role in the development of autoimmune diseases. In this review, we (i) describe the ways in which an infectious agent can initiate or exacerbate autoimmunity; (ii) discuss the evidence linking certain infectious agents to autoimmune diseases in humans; and (iii) describe the animal models used to study the link between infection and autoimmunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology-Immunology and Interdepartmental Immunobiology Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ercolini
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D023421:Models, Animal; D010272:Parasitic Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology*