MYCOPLASMAS AND THE RHEUMATIC DISEASES

有理由进一步评价支原体在 人类风湿性疾病;这一理论基础是（i）建立 支原体作为几种动物关节炎病原体的作用; (ii)积累了人类支原体植物群与 炎症性风湿性疾病的方面;和（iii）最近的证据 描述了驱动人类适应性表面变化的突变系统 支原体种属。该项目的重点是表征互动 人类支原体与其宿主的关系，特别强调 患有明确风湿性疾病的个体。为了进一步描绘一个 支原体在这些疾病中的可能作用，特别是 建议：1）通过选择性PCR检测发病部位， 分类和表征与病理性病变相关的支原体; 2)表征新鉴定的高度个体化的B细胞应答 选择在变体表面上展示的表位库的子集 人支原体的膜脂蛋白;和3）定义分子 这些支原体种属中表面脂蛋白变异的基础。 技术包括PCR扩增和分析靶序列， 宿主源性材料，免疫学筛选方案，以确定模式 血清学反应和膜蛋白基因的表征 通过转座子诱变和标准分子技术。是 预计这些研究中出现的信息将直接 有助于了解支原体感染的性质， 它们与风湿性疾病的关系， 发病机制、检测方法和制定策略， 控制这些慢性疾病。

There is a rationale for further evaluating the role of mycoplasmas in the human rheumatic diseases; this rationale is based on (i) the established role of mycoplasmas as etiological agents of several animal arthritides; (ii) accumulating evidence associating the human mycoplasmal flora with aspects of inflammatory rheumatic diseases; and (iii) recent evidence describing mutational systems driving adaptive surface variation of human mycoplasma species. This project focuses on characterizing the interaction of human mycoplasmas with their host, with specific emphasis on individuals with defined rheumatic disorders. To further delineate a possible role of mycoplasmas in these diseases, it is specifically proposed to: 1) examine disease sites by selective PCR to detect, classify, and characterize mycoplasmas associated with pathologic lesions; 2) characterize a newly identified and highly individual B cell response to select subsets of epitope repertoires displayed on variant surface membrane lipoproteins of human mycoplasmas; and 3) define the molecular basis of surface lipoprotein variation in these mycoplasma species. Techniques include PCR amplification and analysis of target sequences in host-derived materials, immunologic screening protocols to define patterns of serologic reactivities, and characterization of membrane protein genes by transposon mutagenesis and standard molecular techniques. It is anticipated that information emerging from these studies will directly contribute to an understanding of the nature of mycoplasma infections, their association with the rheumatic diseases, the mechanism of pathogenesis, methods for detection, and formulation of strategies to control these chronic disorders.