VACCINE

Current Opinion In Rheumatology • July 2012
Infections and vaccines
in the etiology of antiphospholipid syndrome
Author information
Cruz-Tapias P1, Blank M, Anaya JM, Shoenfeld Y.
Zabludowitz Center for Autoimmune Diseases
Sheba Medical Center affiliated to Sackler Faculty of Medicine
Tel-Aviv University, Israel
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW
To present scientific evidence supporting the infectious origin for the antiphospholipid
syndrome (APS) by molecular mimicry between pathogens,
infection and vaccination with ß2-glycoprotein I (ß2-GPI) molecule.
RECENT FINDINGS
APS is characterized by the presence of pathogenic autoantibodies against
ß2-GPI. The infection etiology of APS was well established. Likewise, a
link between vaccination such as tetanus toxoid may trigger antibodies
targeting tetanus toxoid and ß2-GPI, due to molecular mimicry between
the two molecules. During the years, the pathogenic potential of anti-tetanus
toxoid antibodies cross reactive with ß2-GPI were found to be pathogenic
in animal models, inducing experimental APS.
“The relationship between tetanus toxoid vaccination
and Anti-Phospholipid Syndrome reveals a novel view
on the autoimmune/autoinflammatory syndrome
induced by adjuvants (ASIA).
SUMMARY
Accumulated evidence supports that the presence of anti-ß2-GPI antibodies
is associated with a history of infections and the main mechanism to
explain this correlation is molecular mimicry. The relationship between
tetanus toxoid vaccination and APS reveals a novel view on the autoimmune/autoinflammatory
syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=22617823