Autoreactivity to myeloperoxidase (MPO) causes autoimmune vasculitis and severe glomerulonephritis. Here, Ooi et al. show that a Staphylococcus aureus plasmid encodes a peptide that is homologous to an immunodominant MPO epitope and induces anti-MPO autoimmunity and glomerulonephritis in mice.
- Joshua D. Ooi
- Jhih-Hang Jiang
- A. Richard Kitching