ANTIGENIC PEPTIDES AND AUTOIMMUNITY

MHC class II alleles play a major role in determining resistance or su sceptibility to autoimmune disease. Considerable effort is being expen ded to establish the role polymorphisms play in influencing the bindin g of antigens, including autoantigens, in the peptide-binding groove. Single amino acid substitutions in the MHC cleft, for instance at DR b eta 71 and DQ beta 57, influence peptide binding. Although candidate a utoantigenic peptides have been identified which bind to disease-assoc iated MHC molecules, several critical questions remain to be answered before the role of these peptides in the autoimmune disease process ca n be established.