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Article: Triggering autoimmune assaults: mouth bacteria unleash inflammation-inducing protein.(Body & Brain)(phosphoethanolamine dihydroceramide)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 10, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SAN DIEGO -- OUR BODIES PROVIDE FOOD and shelter for trillions of microbes--bacteria, yeasts and other squatters. Now, researchers report that a few resident species release a substance that can inappropriately rev up the immune system. If this happens at the wrong time, animal tests suggest, the body may launch a dangerous assault against itself.
Once such an autoimmune attack begins, the body finds it hard to shut it down, notes Robert B. Clark. The question has always been what triggers autoimmunity--the condition underlying multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and a host of other disorders.
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