Identification of a major epitope by anti-interferon-γ autoantibodies in patients with mycobacterial disease

Cheng-Lung Ku and colleagues report that anti-interferon (IFN)-γ autoantibodies in patients with disseminated mycobacterial infections recognize the C-terminus of IFN-γ, and suggest that autoantibodies may arise by molecular mimicry. The authors propose a therapeutic strategy to treat patients using a modified IFN-γ that escapes neutralization by autoantibodies.