An 8-Year-Old Boy from the Intermountain Region of the United

Multiple Choice

An 8-year-old boy from the intermountain region of the United States is brought to the pediatrician with fever,rash,and pain in his knees and ankles.Pericarditis is evident on auscultation,and echocardiography confirms mitral valve regurgitation.Three weeks before this episode,the patient had experienced a sore throat but had not received medical attention.High titers of antistreptococcal antibodies are present in the serum.This child's disease is a result of which one of the following phenomena?

A) Clonal anergy
B) Peripheral tolerance
C) Epitope spreading
D) Central tolerance
E) Molecular mimicry