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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Generation of Two-color Antigen Microarrays for the Simultaneous Detection of IgG and IgM Autoantibodies
Published on: September 15, 2016
Single nucleotide polymorphisms as a prerequisite for autoantigens
Michael B Stadler1, Diana Arnold, Sara Frieden
1Institute of Immunology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. stadler@mit.edu
Abstract:
It is still elusive why certain self proteins induce an autoimmune response. One immunological hypothesis is that only modified or altered self-proteins may become a target. Thus, we asked whether such alterations may actually be genetic polymorphisms that can be revealed by analyzing sequence variability in the known human autoantigens. Indeed, we found autoantigens to contain significantly more single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) than other human genes do. Our finding may offer an explanation for autoimmune responses through allogeneic exposure. Besides other contributing factors in autoimmunity, SNP may represent an essential prerequisite for the primary induction of an autoimmune response.
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