Activation of autoreactive lymphocytes leads to cellular and tissue damage, which results in the development of autoimmune diseases. External environmental changes, such as chronic microbial infections, can alter the immune homeostasis and disrupt the balance of autoreactive T and B cells. In this review, we first summarize immune tolerance mechanisms of T and B cells, and then describe the breakthroughs of immune tolerance in T and B cells, followed by related autoimmune diseases. Furthermore, we explore how microbial infections can induce the production of autoreactive antibodies via carrier effects when the balance of autoreactive T and B cells is disrupted. These kinds of antibodies can lead to autoimmune diseases through molecular mimicry mechanisms. Our perspective provides a theoretical framework and novel insights into the mechanism of autoreactive antibodies in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases associated with microbial infections. This analysis may offer novel directions for drug discovery of autoimmune diseases.
Yan et al. (Sat,) studied this question.