Figure 3.

Putative mechanisms of chemical-induced autoimmunity. Toxic chemicals damage host tissue, releasing tissue self-antigens. (A) The self-antigens are picked up by dendritic cells (DCs) and presented to T cells, which present them to B cells, inducing them to develop into plasma cells, which produce antibodies against the host tissue. (B) The toxic chemical metabolites bind to the self-tissue antigens, forming neoantigens, which go through the same process of presentation and development of the B cells into plasma cells, which, in this case, produce antibodies against both the body tissue and the chemical.