Interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) is such an RA peptide and a mimicry target of both Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigen BOLF1 and MAP antigen MAP_4027; this supports the hypothesis that both EBV and MAP infections may be involved with the pathogenesis of RA by triggering an immune response against RA self-peptides (Bo et al. 2018). Here, IRF5 is linked to rheumatoid arthritis.