Infectious aspects and the etiopathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis.
Infections are believed to contribute to the maturation of the immune system from the innate to the adaptive phases and therefore may take part in the induction of autoimmune conditions. In the current study, we present an extensive analysis conducted on sera samples of patients with rheumatoid arthritis in order to seek evidence of previous or coexisting infectious processes using the Bio-Rad BioPlex immunoassay analyzer. We detected higher rates of serological evidence of infections with Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus viruses. Our findings may indicate a role of these viruses in the pathogenesis of RA.
Meron
Michal Kasher
MK
Department of Medicine D, Meir Medical Center affiliated with Tel Aviv University Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Kfar-Saba, Israel.
Amital
Howard
H
Shepshelovich
Daniel
D
Barzilai
Ori
O
Ram
Maya
M
Anaya
Juan-Manuel
JM
Gerli
Roberto
R
Bizzaro
Nicola
N
Nicola
Bizzaro
B
Shoenfeld
Yehuda
Y
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000382:microbiology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D014210:Treponema pallidum
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D000914:Antibodies, Viral