Mycobacterium tuberculosis is known to be associated with several autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematous,
rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. This is attributed to sequence similarity between virulent factors and human proteins.
Therefore, it is of interest to identify such regions in the virulent factors to assess potential autoimmune related information. M.
tb specific virulent factors were downloaded from the VFDB database and its human homologs were identified using the sequence
comparison search tool BLASTP. Both virulent proteins and their corresponding human homologs were further scanned for
epitopes (B cell and HLA class I and II allele specific) using prediction programs (BCPRED and NETMHC). Data shows the
presence of matching 22 B-cell, 79 HLA class II and 16 HLA class I specific predicted epitopes in these virulent factors having
human homologs. A known peptide (HAFYLQYKNVKVDFA) associated with autoimmune atopic dermatitis is shown in the
superoxide dismutase homolog structures of the bacterium (PDB ID: 1IDS) and human (PDB ID: 2QKC). This data provides insight
into the understanding of infection-associated auto-immunity
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