Molecular mimicry would also explain why diabetes is less common in Japan.

Molecular mimicry is probably part of the story, he said, but it may only be a small part.

There are ways in which autoimmunity caused by molecular mimicry can be avoided.

To understand how molecular mimicry is believed to work, consider two people who are exposed to the common coxsackie virus.

This process is known as molecular mimicry.

In contrast to molecular mimicry, the other epitopes need not be structurally similar to the primary one.

This has important implications for molecular mimicry.

Molecular mimicry is a phenomenon that has been just recently discovered as one of several ways in which autoimmunity can be evoked.

Molecular mimicry, from these examples, has therefore been shown to occur in the absence of any true sequence homology.

Molecular mimicry is, however, only one mechanism by which an autoimmune disease can occur in association with a pathogen.

But many prominent immunologists here and abroad say that answers are beginning to be found in a controversial theory called molecular mimicry.

However, due to the amino acid variation between different proteins, molecular mimicry should not happen from a probability standpoint.

In humans, it has recently been shown that there are other possible targets for molecular mimicry in patients with multiple sclerosis.

A few of the suggested mechanisms involve molecular mimicry, phosphorylation pathways, and cytokines.

Their early research suggested that molecular mimicry may not be a mechanism that is involved in MS.

The reason for this is not known, however molecular mimicry between Mups and structurally similar human lipocalins has been proposed as a possible explanation.

A long standing H.pylori infection may cause gastric autoimmunity by a mechanism known as molecular mimicry.

Molecular mimicry is defined as similar structures shared by molecules from dissimilar genes or by their protein products.

Molecular mimicry has been characterized as recently as the 1970s as another mechanism by which a pathogen can generate autoimmunity.

The antibodies may also be produced through molecular mimicry, where cross reactive antibodies bind to both virus and human proteins.

Anti-dsDNA antibodies can also be produced through infection via a mechanism known as molecular mimicry.

Molecular mimicry is thus occurring between two recognized peptides that have similar antigenic surfaces in the absence of primary sequence homology.

As with many autoimmune disorders, the cause is probably genetic predisposition combined with molecular mimicry caused by a virus or bacterium.

This cross-reactivity is a Type II hypersensitivity reaction and is termed molecular mimicry.

It is now apparent that sequence similarity considerations are not sufficient when evaluating potential mimic epitopes and the underlying mechanisms of molecular mimicry.