Mohammad Shayestehpour,1,*
1. Department of Bacteriology and Virology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Introduction: Molecular mimicry is one of the primary ways that viral pathogens potentially trigger autoimmunity. This occurs when the similarity between exogenous peptides and self-peptides leads to activation of autoreactive T or B cells. Recent data on the biology of human anelloviruses such as TTV and SEN suggest that they could trigger autoimmune diseases. Anelloviruses are small, single stranded circular DNA viruses. The present study was aimed to evaluate the association between anelloviruses and autoimmunity.
Methods: We searched PubMed. Web of science, Scopus, google scholar to find articles about the role of human anelloviruses in autoimmunity. All studied were collected, studied and analyzed by two researchers.
Results: TTV has been found to be more prevalent in individuals suffering from some autoimmune disorders. Researchers detected TTV in 10 of 84 (12%) patients with systemic sclerosis, 9 of 41 (22%) patients with rheumatoid arthritis, 3 of 43 (7%) patients with osteoarthritis, and 16 of 122 (13%) healthy controls. Researchers for the first time in 2005 reported the frequency of TTV in SLE patients about 57%, which was statistically higher than the frequency of the virus in healthy people. In a study conducted in Iran, TTV was detected in 43 SLE patients and 33 healthy individuals. A significant correlation was found between SLE and the presence of TTV. In the study conducted in Kashan, TTV was detected in 43 SLE patients (74.1%) and 33 healthy individuals (56.9%). In addition, SEN virus was detected in 26 healthy people and 37 patients with lupus erythematosus (P=0.031). In a study conducted in Iran, TTV DNA was detected in ten (11.1%) of patients with autoimmune hepatitis, versus four (4.4%) in control group. TTV has been found in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, and multiple sclerosis (MS).
Conclusion: A significant association between anelloviruses and autoimmunity was observed in the previous studies, however further studies are needed to investigate the mechanisms of these viruses in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders.
Keywords: human anelloviruses, autoimmunity, autoimmune disorders