BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY - IS IT AN AUTOIMMUNE-DISEASE DUE TOBACTERIA SHOWING MOLECULAR MIMICRY WITH BRAIN ANTIGENS

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) could be an autoimmune disease produced following exposure of cattle to feedstuffs containing bacteri a showing molecular mimicry between bacterial components and bovine ti ssue. Analysis of molecular sequence databases (Genbank and SwissProt) shows that three bacteria (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, Ruminococcus albus, and Agrobacter tumefaciens) share sequences with the encephalit ogenic peptide of bovine myelin, while three molecules in Escherichia coli show molecular mimicry with host-encoded prion protein. Immune re sponses against these bacteria at both T and B cell levels may cause n eurological tissue injury resembling BSE. The role of these bacteria i n BSE, if any, merits further investigation.