Autoimmunity caused by host cell protein-containing viruses

Autoreactive T cells specific for myelin basic protein (MBP), a major component of central nervous system (CNS) protein, are frequently found in blood and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with postinfectious encephalomyelitis. This autoimmune syndrome is a CNS complication after infections with a number of different enveloped viruses, e.g. mumps, measles, rubella, influenza and varicella. However, the pathophysiological mechanism leading to this breaking of natural self tolerance in the course of viral infection remains an enigma. A long-lasting hypothesis has suggested that incorporation of cellular (self) proteins into the envelope of budding viruses might be a possible mechanism leading to autosensitization. In a model study we demonstrate here that vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), grown in myelin protein-expressing cell cultures, is highly efficient in triggering T cell responses to MBP in vitro and can prime autoreactive T cell immune responses in vivo. On the basis of these findings, we suggest that incorporation of CNS membrane components into the viral envelope and subsequent priming of self-reactive immune responses might be the common pathogenic mechanism underlying the postinfectious encephalomyelitis syndrome.