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Molecular mimicry is thus occurring between two recognized peptides that have similar antigenic surfaces in the absence of primary sequence homology. For example, specific single amino acid residues such as cysteine (creates di-sulfide bonds), arginine or lysine (form multiple hydrogen bonds), could be essential for T cell cross-reactivity.
Chemical mimicry (or molecular mimicry) is a type of biological mimicry involving the use of chemicals to dupe an operator. A chemical mimic dupes an operator (e.g. a predator) by showing an adaptive chemical resemblance to an object of its environment and as a consequence receives selective advantage. [ 1 ]
Molecular mimicry – An exogenous antigen may share structural similarities with certain host antigens; thus, any antibody produced against this antigen (which mimics the self-antigens) can also, in theory, bind to the host antigens, and amplify the immune response.
[5] [19] The molecular mimicry hypothesis is a proposed mechanism for PANDAS: [13] this hypothesis is that antigens on the cell wall of the streptococcal bacteria are similar in some way to the proteins of the heart valve, joints, or brain.
Mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry functions to protect from predators. [11] Mimicry systems have three basic roles: a mimic, a model, and a dupe.
Molecular mimicry may be particularly relevant to the tolerance breakdown linked to autoimmune neuropathies. The process known as "molecular mimicry" occurs when an infectious organism that shares epitopes from its host's afflicted tissue triggers an immune response in the host. However, only a small number of convincingly identified specific ...
Mimicry of the host species also occurs in the paper wasp species Polistes semenowi and Polistes sulcifer and the bumblebee species Bombus bohemicus, with the parasite changing its proportions of cuticular hydrocarbons, species- and colony-specific identifying chemicals, to match that of the usurped host species.
This contrasts with classical genetics, which works mostly on crosses between laboratory strains, and DNA sequence analysis, which studies genes at the molecular level. Research in this field is on traits of ecological significance—traits that affect an organism's fitness , or its ability to survive and reproduce. [ 1 ]