Streptococcal infection and autoimmune diseases

Ayaka Ohashi; Masanori A Murayama; Yoshishige Miyabe; Kazuo Yudoh; Chie Miyabe

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1361123

Streptococcal infection and autoimmune diseases

Front Immunol. 2024 Feb 23:15:1361123. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1361123. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Ayaka Ohashi¹, Masanori A Murayama², Yoshishige Miyabe¹, Kazuo Yudoh³, Chie Miyabe³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Immunology and Parasitology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.
² Department of Animal Models for Human Diseases, Institute of Biomedical Science, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan.
³ Department of Frontier Medicine, Institute of Medical Science, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan.

Abstract

Excessive activation of immune cells by environmental factors, such as infection or individual genetic risk, causes various autoimmune diseases. Streptococcus species are gram-positive bacteria that colonize the nasopharynx, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, genitourinary tract, and skin. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) species cause various symptoms, ranging from mild infections, such as tonsillitis and pharyngitis, to serious infections, such as necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. The contribution of GAS infections to several autoimmune diseases, including acute rheumatic fever, vasculitis, and neuropsychiatric disorders, has been studied. In this review, we focus on the association between streptococcal infections and autoimmune diseases, and discuss current research on the mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of autoimmune diseases.

Keywords: Streptococcus; autoimmune diseases; infection; molecular mimicry; nephritis-associated plasmin receptor (NAPlr).

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Autoimmune Diseases* / complications
Humans
Pharyngitis*
Rheumatic Fever*
Streptococcal Infections* / microbiology
Streptococcus pyogenes

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported in part by Takeda Medical Research Foundation Research Grant, The Mochida Memorial Foundation for Medical and Pharmaceutical Research, and JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Number 23K07883) to CM.