Publisher Summary The term “autoimmune disease” signifies a condition in which the
immune system damages otherwise normal components of the individual. More recently …

The role of infection in the development of autoimmunity is discussed in view of recent
advances in the field of immunologic tolerance. Infectious agents may directly damage …

The studies summarized in this chapter indicate that chronic bacterial, viral, and parasitic
infections can serve as a trigger factor of autoimmune reactivity according to various …

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses autoimmune diseases. Immunologic response
has specific resistance to infectious diseases. Immunity by our present concept is the basis …

Recent developments in autoimmunity suggest that there are three stages in the response to
self, which can be called autorecognition, autoimmunity, and autoimmune disease. The first …

The immune system of the host responds to foreign molecules while avoiding reactions
against molecules (self-antigens) of the host itself. This ability to discriminate self from …

Autoimmune disease occurs when a specific adaptive immune response is mounted against
self antigens. The normal consequence of an adaptive immune response against a foreign …

When the immune system fails to discriminate foreign microorganisms from the body's own
tissue, an autoimmune disease may result. The association of immunologic disease with the …

Autoimmunity reflects the destruction of host tissue by the immune system. In my laboratory
we are focused on understanding autoimmunity and the complex regulation of the …

For almost a century self-nonself discrimination has been considered the driving force of the
immune system and the dogma of self-tolerance (horror autotoxicus) the essential issue for …