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Viral damage or ‘molecular mimicry’—placing the blame in myocarditis

Coxsackieviruses have long been associated with myocarditis. Recent studies have attempted to determine whether this autoimmune response to heart antigens is initiated by the virus itself, or by host antigens released during viral damage (pages 693–697).

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Figure 1: The pathogenesis of myocarditis.

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Rose, N. Viral damage or ‘molecular mimicry’—placing the blame in myocarditis. Nat Med 6, 631–632 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/76199

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