The Autoimmune Diseases Manifested by Production of Autoantibodies: the Autoantigens Identified by Random Peptide Library

Phage-displayed random peptide libraries (rpl) provide a powerful technique foridentification, structural and functional analysis of ligands for many different targetmolecules, including, antibodies, receptors or other proteins. this strategy has been verifiedto be an effective tool for research in immunology and successfully has been used todetermine the target sequence for monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. the peptide libraryapproach provides great promise for characterization of ligands with no prior informationconcerning antibody specificity. this would allow the recognition of candidate antigensinvolved in initiation or perpetuation of autoimmune diseases. this technology also offersthe potential for new therapeutic opportunities, production of diagnostic reagents, or evendevelopment of effective new vaccines. this review focuses on studies regarding theidentification of autoantigens recognized by antibodies in autoimmune diseases using phagedisplaypeptide libraries.