Investigation for Autoreactive T-cell to Autoantigen in Behcet's Disease

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The observation of recurrent oral aphtha preceding ocular inflammation in patients with Behcet's disease suggests a role of oral Streptococcus in the etiology of this disease. Heat-treated Streptoccus antigen can induce ocular inflammation or systemic symptoms in Behcet's disease patients. Furthermore, the presence of an autoantibody against retinat heat-shock protein 60 (HSP60) has been detected in the sera of these patients. Injection of extracted retinal HSP60 also induces experimental uveitis in treated rats. The characteristics of retinal HSP60 and HSP60 from Streptoccus pyogenes (S. pyogenes) were evaluated using a molecular biological approach. The gene encoding HSP60 was isolated by polymerase chain reaction from a bovine retinal cDNA library and from S. pyogenes DNA. The DNA sequence of the HSP60 coding region was determined, and the amino acid sequences of the encoded proteins were predicted from the DNA sequence. The synthetic peptide (50 nmol) was emulsified with Freund's complete adjuvant and injected into rats. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of Streptococcal and bovine retinal HSP60 revealed about 200 residue region with 47% homology. Experimental uveitis was mainly induced in rats inoculated with retinal HSP60-derived peptide or Streptococcus HSP60-derived peptide that is equivalent to residues 245-259 of human HSP65. Retinal and Streptococcal HSP60 amino acid composition are thought to be important and useful for investigating the mechanisms involved in the induction of Behcet's disease.