The agent replicates in the spleen and lymph nodes and occasionally causes an immunologic reaction. Auto-antibodies are characteristically seen in the late stages of experimental and naturally occurring disease. The immune reaction seen in these Spongiform diseases can be explained by super antigen activity, Bastian says. This results in some immunoglobulin production, but only transiently. The major effect is clonal deletion of T cells, resulting in a state of immune tolerance.
Autoantibodies can also form.
In Spongiform diseases, PrP presumably acts as a super antigen. It is noteworthy that inclusion body myositis, a condition in which prions are seen, is an established super antigen disease. He is virtually certain that these hay mites contain spiroplasma, noting that the investigators have not so far found PrP in the mites. We know that the maggots and mites contain spiroplasma. Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies will continue to be misunderstood unless we begin to study and understand these simple connections.