Autoimmune reactions associated with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection.

Patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection often develop various autoantibodies including cold agglutinins, cold antibodies reacting with lymphocytes, antibodies against various tissue antigens, for instance brain and lung and smooth muscle antibodies. Various mechanisms that may be responsible for the induction of these autoimmune responses and the possible pathogenicity of these autoantibodies are discussed.