Rheumatoid factor from periodontitis patients cross‐reacts with epitopes on oral bacteria

Abstract

These findings indicate that the RF detected in the serum of some periodontitis patients may be elicited by certain micro-organisms in the subgingival plaque. Furthermore, C. gingivalis and F. nucleatum appear to express surface antigen epitopes that are antigenically related to determinants on IgG can induce cross-reactive IgM-RF.