Chapter category: Autoimmunity
Autoimune Disorders—A Common Link?
CTLA-4 in Autoimmune Disease
Edited by: Flemming PociotISBN: 1-58706-068-X
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Chapter authors:
Flemming Pociot
The immune system has evolved to protect multicellular organisms from pathogens. It is therefore perplexing that this system turns on the individual, in some cases precipitating catastrophic autoimmune disease. The capability of the immune system to destroy a variety of cell types is evident, both from the human diseases themselves and their excellent animal models. The tissue attacked varies from the beta cells of the endocrine pancreas in Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus (T1DM), joint components in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the myelin of the central nervous system in multiple sclerosis (MS) and major structures of the cell nucleus in systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE). In addition, it seems likely that a substantial amount of human pathology will ultimately be explained by damage that is mediated by the immune system in common diseases such as atherosclerosis. Thus, the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of autoimmunity is a key goal for the improvement of human health. Autoimmune diseases affect some 5-7% of adults in North America and Europe, Table 1. They have major socio-economic impact, as they are associated with debilitation during the most productive years of life. Despite the avalanche of molecular and immunogenetic data and improvements in seriologic diagnosis, the specific etiologies of virtually all human autoimmune diseases are unknown. For some autoimmune diseases, there may be a very long latency period between disease onset and clinical presentation. Existing therapies tend only to be partially successful and often associated with a variety of serious side effects. However, even in the absence of a complete understanding of the underlying mechanisms that confer susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, it may be possible to devise successful therapies by interfering with one or more of the specific pathways characteristic of tissue destruction.
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Autoimune Disorders—A Common Link?
Flemming Pociot
The immune system has evolved to protect multicellular organisms from pathogens. It is therefore perplexing that this system turns on the individual, in some cases precipitating catastrophic autoimm...
