  A recent application of the peptide strings concept has yielded novel
perceptions on cell growth regulation, for instance that of oncoprotein
metastasis. Here, this interdisciplinary approach at the boundary between
physics and biology has been applied to gain a more profound insight into
rheumatoid arthritis. As a result of the present investigation, this disease
could be viewed as due to a metabolic dysregulation/syndrome-associated
breakdown in the immunoglobulin A-based surveillance of the potentially
pathogenic fungus Candida albicans that subsequently engenders a widespread
self-destruction through cross-reactive auto-epitopes, ultimately amounting to
the systemic predominance of a pro-inflammatory peptide string. Its therapeutic
counterpart equally proposed in this report might serve as a model for future
strategies against autoimmunity.
