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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Jun 21.
Published in final edited form as: J Theor Biol. 2014 Dec 4;375:101–123. doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.11.022

Figure 10. Antigenic Complementarity Theory Applied to T Cell-Mediated Autoimmunity.

Figure 10

The same logic just outlined in Figure 9 with regard to antibody-mediated autoimmunity can also be applied to explaining T cell-mediated autoimmunity provoked by pairs of microbes bearing complementary antigens. The result will be to induce pairs of T cells bearing complementary T cell receptors (TCR-1 and TCR-2) that will act as if they are idiotype-anti-idiotype pairs. Such complementary idiotypic T cells will attack each other, forming perivascular cuffs or other cellular aggregates (the cellular equivalent of circulating ICs). If the antigens mimic host proteins, then these complementary T cells will also attack the host tissue. As in Figure 9, ACT predicts that autoimmune disease begins with an immunologic civil war.