title: Tracing environmental markers of autoimmunity: introducing the infectome.
abstract: We recently introduced the concept of the infectome as a means of studying all infectious factors which contribute to the development of autoimmune disease. It forms the infectious part of the exposome, which collates all environmental factors contributing to the development of disease and studies the sum total of burden which leads to the loss of adaptive mechanisms in the body. These studies complement genome-wide association studies, which establish the genetic predisposition to disease. The infectome is a component which spans the whole life and may begin at the earliest stages right up to the time when the first symptoms manifest, and may thus contribute to the understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmunity at the prodromal/asymptomatic stages. We provide practical examples and research tools as to how we can investigate disease-specific infectomes, using laboratory approaches employed from projects studying the "immunome" and "microbiome". It is envisioned that an understanding of the infectome and the environmental factors that affect it will allow for earlier patient-specific intervention by clinicians, through the possible treatment of infectious agents as well as other compounding factors, and hence slowing or preventing disease development.
authors.affiliation: Division of Transplantation Immunology and Mucosal Biology, Institute of Liver Studies, King's College London School of Medicine at King's College Hospital, Denmark Hill Campus, London, SE5 9RS, UK. dimitrios.bogdanos@kcl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Dimitrios P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bogdanos
authors.forename: Daniel S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Smyk
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Invernizzi
authors.forename: Eirini I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Rigopoulou
authors.forename: Miri
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Blank
authors.forename: Lazaros
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sakkas
authors.forename: Shideh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pouria
authors.forename: Yehuda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shoenfeld
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D007159:Immunologic Tests; D007239:Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000276:immunology; D008403:Mass Screening; D064307:Microbiota
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers