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. 2016 Dec;37(12):815-818.
doi: 10.1016/j.it.2016.09.007. Epub 2016 Oct 21.

Tuberculosis: An Infection-Initiated Autoimmune Disease?

Paul Elkington  1 , Marc Tebruegge  2 , Salah Mansour  2
Affiliations

Tuberculosis: An Infection-Initiated Autoimmune Disease?

Paul Elkington et al. Trends Immunol. 2016 Dec.

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and provided original proof that an infectious agent can cause human disease. However, key steps in TB pathogenesis remain poorly understood. We propose that autoimmunity is a critical and overlooked process driving pathology in TB, and present clinical and experimental observations supporting this hypothesis.

Keywords: CD1; autoimmunity; host immune response; pathology; tuberculosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. The Histological Appearances of Sarcoidosis and Tuberculosis Are Often Indistinguishable
A) Lymph node biopsy of sarcoidosis; the patient improved with systemic immunosuppression with corticosteroids. B) Lymph node biopsy of tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture was positive and the patient recovered with antibiotic therapy. Scale bar 100µm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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