I recently made a switch in my Research Interest from Protein Chemistry and Proteomics to Autoimmunity. Can anyone explain the molecular mechanisms behind epitope spreading in autoimmune diseases? How does it progress from the initial autoantigen to other self-antigens? Additionally, what are the best experimental approaches to study this phenomenon in vitro and in vivo? My group will be studying the transient changes occurring in the phase of antigenic transformation from self to immunogenic.