Infections (viruses, bacteria, protozoa, fungi) are major etiological factors causing clinical
myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy. In many patients and symptom-free relatives
antibodies and T cells reactive to heart antigens are detected, which implies that
autoimmunity is probably a major pathogenic mechanism of cardiac injury. Animal models
have been established to elucidate how infections initiate autoimmunity and how
autoimmune mediators cause death or transient dysfunction of myocytes. Two major types of …