{"id":9308,"date":"2021-12-19T00:23:58","date_gmt":"2021-12-18T22:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/clinical\/internal-medicine\/immunology\/general-features-of-systemic-autoimmune-diseases\/"},"modified":"2023-06-20T11:07:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T09:07:45","slug":"general-features-of-systemic-autoimmune-diseases","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/clinical\/internal-medicine\/immunology\/general-features-of-systemic-autoimmune-diseases\/","title":{"rendered":"General features of systemic autoimmune diseases"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_1\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Tolerance<\/h3>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_1\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tolerance is a concept describing the <strong>lack of response of the adaptive immune system to specific stimuli<\/strong>; when discussing self-tolerance, the stimuli in question are the antigens of our own tissues.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_2\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Mechanisms of tolerance<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_2\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our body maintains tolerance through a variety of mechanisms, classified based on their activity as &#8220;recessive&#8221; (passive) and &#8220;dominant&#8221; (active); in addition, some tissues are protected against the immune system (the brain, testis, eyes) by special barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_3\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Recessive tolerance<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_3\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Recessive tolerance is achieved through a <strong>cell-intrinsic<\/strong> manner. It is also regarded to as <strong>central tolerance<\/strong>, as it occurs within the developmental organs (bone marrow for B-cells, and thymus for T-cells).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Immature cells will modulate themselves (&#8220;<strong>receptor editing<\/strong>&#8220;) or undergo apoptosis (&#8220;<strong>deletion<\/strong>&#8220;) when they bind to self-antigens.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anergy<\/strong> (functional inactivation) of self-reactive cells that managed to escape the eceptor editing and apoptosis.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Modulation of their activation threshold<\/strong> by upregulation of inhibitory receptors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_4\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Dominant tolerance<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_4\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dominant tolerance is achieved through a <strong>cell-extrinsic<\/strong> manner. It is also regarded as <strong>peripheral tolerance<\/strong>, as it occurs after the lymphocytes are released to the periphery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Specialized regulatory T-cells (<strong>T-reg cells<\/strong>) help maintain the homeostasis of the immune system by suppressing it. The cells express special proteins such as FOXP3 and CLTA4, which are immuno-suppressive.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_5\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Mechanisms of autoimmunity<\/h3>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_5\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Autoimmunity is defined as the <strong>loss of tolerance and reaction to one&#8217;s own antigens<\/strong>. It is characterized by the presence of self-reactive lymphocytes capable of reacting against self-tissues or producing antibodies that target their own antigens (autoantibodies).<\/p>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_6\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Factors<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_6\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is believed that autoimmunity is the result of <strong>genetic<\/strong>, <strong>individual<\/strong>, and <strong>environmental<\/strong> factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Genetic and individual factors may contribute to the development of autoimmunity.<ul><li>Those include the <strong>HLA genes<\/strong>, and the mutation of certain key regulatory genes such as the <strong>AIRE <\/strong>(autoimmune regulator) <strong>gene<\/strong>.<\/li><\/ul><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Certain race groups are at a higher risk of developing autoimmune disorders (i.e. African Americans).\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Certain diseases are more common at certain age groups.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women are at a much higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases (probably due to hormonal differences).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Environmental factors include tissue injuries, drugs, toxins, and infections.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tissue injury releases self-antigens which can contribute to the development of autoimmunity. <strong>UV light<\/strong> in particular, may lead to the apoptosis of skin cells, with subsequent exposure of nuclear antigens, which is thought to be the etiology of SLE.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Certain drugs may cause autoimmunity, such as isoniazid (SLE and autoimmune hapatitis).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Toxins such as cigarette smoke may contribute to autoimmune conditions such as RA, Chron&#8217;s, and psoriasis; in other conditions, however, it may be protective (UC).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Infections can lead to autoimmune reactions through <strong>molecular mimicry<\/strong> and hyperactivation of the immune system.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_7\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title1\">Autoimmune diseases<\/h3>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_7\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Autoimmune diseases can be classified based into two entities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Organ-specific autoimmune diseases<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Systemic autoimmune diseases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<\/span><span class=\"block-heading\" id=\"header_8\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"title_collection title2\">Systemic autoimmune diseases<\/h4>\n<\/span><span class=\"block-content\" id=\"contents_8\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Systemic autoimmune diseases refer to a diverse group of diseases that have the potential of damaging multiple organs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Examples of autoimmune diseases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rheumatic arthritis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Psoriasis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Systemic sclerosis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Systemic lupus erythematosus<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dermatomyositis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The exact etiology and molecular mechanisms are unknown, but they are characterized by the presence of self-reactive lymphocytes and autoantibodies.<\/p>\n<\/span><div id=\"the_titles\" style=\"display:none;\"><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tolerance<\/h3><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mechanisms of tolerance<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Recessive tolerance<\/h4><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Dominant tolerance<\/h4><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mechanisms of autoimmunity<\/h3><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Factors<\/h4><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Autoimmune diseases<\/h3><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Systemic autoimmune diseases<\/h4><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tolerance Tolerance is a concept describing the lack of response of the adaptive immune system to specific stimuli; when discussing self-tolerance, the stimuli in question are the antigens of our own tissues. Mechanisms of tolerance Our body maintains tolerance through a variety of mechanisms, classified based on their activity as &#8220;recessive&#8221; (passive) and &#8220;dominant&#8221; (active); [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":9306,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9308","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>General features of systemic autoimmune diseases &#8211; Meddists<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/meddists.com\/learn\/clinical\/internal-medicine\/immunology\/general-features-of-systemic-autoimmune-diseases\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/clinical\\\/internal-medicine\\\/immunology\\\/general-features-of-systemic-autoimmune-diseases\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/meddists.com\\\/learn\\\/clinical\\\/internal-medicine\\\/immunology\\\/general-features-of-systemic-autoimmune-diseases\\\/\",\"name\":\"General features of systemic autoimmune diseases &#8211; 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