Anti-saccharomyces cerevisiae autoantibodies and autoimmune diseases: the sweet and sour of baking yeast.

S accharomyces cerevisiae has long been used both to ferment the sugars of cereals to produce alcoholic drinks and in the baking industry to leaven dough until it became the gold-standard in brewing and baking. Thousands of years ago, humans were exposed to yeast, which accidentally “contaminated” flour or drinks. The flavorsome results have brought it into almost every meal nowadays depending on the culinary culture [1]. The probable physiopathologic mechanism of molecular mimicry of self-antigens behind the induction of anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae autoantibodies (ASCAs) may indicate their pathogenic role in several associated autoimmune diseases. In recent decades, the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases has increasingly come to be understood as a process involving several different factors. These factors constitute the interesting complexity of the mosaic of autoimmunity whose pieces include genetic, immunologic, hormonal and environmental factors, such as microbial agents among which yeasts are becoming apparent as part of the whole [2]. Evidence of the association between ASCAs and autoimmune disorders has increased over the past two decades.