A role for the bugs

While searching for genetic origins for human disease is in vogue, work also continues to seek viral and bacterial origins of disorders ranging from autoimmune conditions to cancer and cardiovascular disease. Two reports last week added to the links. One associated rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with human parvovirus B19 and the other linked extraskeletal calcification-based disorders such as kidney stones with nanobacteria.

Other recent studies have connected adenovirus AD-36 with obesity (see BioCentury, May 18), and suggested that viruses could induce autoimmune responses by mimicking antigens that trigger immune responses against the host's own tissues (see BioCentury, March 2)...