Figure 1.

Self and foreign antigens that may induce autoantibodies in autoimmunity. The potential contribution of apoptotic bodies, NETs, and bacterial biofilms to immune tolerance versus stimulation is indicated. The distribution and content of self (green) and foreign (red) antigens is diagrammed. In apoptotic bodies, “foreign” structures may include post-translational modifications that are present only during late stages of apoptosis (orange). NETs, in addition to modified chromatin (orange), may also contain bacterial adjuvants, whereas biofilms may incorporate host DNA. Short red rods indicate bacteria in NETs and biofilms. For details, see text.