antigenic mimicry
Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry:
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antigenic mimicry
the sharing of antigenic determinants by microbial agents and body proteins as a result of similarity in amino acid sequences. This might play a role in autoimmune disease because the microbial sequences produce antibodies against the equivalent sequences in body proteins.
| antigenic drift, antigenic determinant, antigen-presenting cell | |
| antigenic shift, antigenicity, antigibberellin |
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Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry
Oxford University Press. Oxford Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology © 1997, 2000, 2006 All rights reserved.
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