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Review
. 1996 Dec;8(6):831-6.
doi: 10.1016/s0952-7915(96)80012-4.

Epitope spreading

C J Vanderlugt  1 , S D Miller
Affiliations
Review

Epitope spreading

C J Vanderlugt et al. Curr Opin Immunol. 1996 Dec.

Abstract

Epitope (determinant) spreading is the development of immune responses to endogenous epitopes secondary to the release of self antigens during a chronic autoimmune or inflammatory response. The past year has seen considerable advances in our understanding of the contribution of epitope spreading to the chronic pathogenesis of experimental T-cell-mediated and antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases. Most significantly, conclusive functional evidence for a major role for epitope spreading in the chronic pathogenesis of murine relapsing-remitting experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, a CD4+ T-cell-mediated model of multiple sclerosis, was forthcoming.

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References

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