There are over 80 defined autoimmune diseases, characterized by the activation of the
immune system and tissue damage in the absence of an external threat to the organism …

Autoimmune diseases are the result of specific immune responses directed against
structures of the self (Burnet and Fenner, 1949). The organism possesses powerful …

The immune system has evolved mechanisms enabli ng it to discriminate between self and
non-self constituents. A normally functioning organism is naturally unresponsive to self …

The immune system specifically recognizes and eliminates foreign antigens and, thus,
protects integrity of the host. During maturation of the immune system, tolerance …

Autoimmune diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders where multiple alterations in
the immune system result in a spectrum of syndromes that either target specific organs or …

Autoimmune diseases are a vast array of organ-specific as well as systemic diseases,
whose pathogenesis stems from the activation of B-and T lymphocytes reacting against …

Publisher Summary The principal role of the immune system is to confer protection on the
organism against foreign invading pathogens, which can gain access to the body by …

Autoimmune diseases are common diseases in which loss of tolerance within the immune
system results in pathologic immune responses that target either cellular or organ-specific …

Autoimmunity is defined as the immune response to antigens of the host itself. This
autoimmune response can be demonstrated by the presence of circulating autoantibodies or …

A hallmark of immune responses is the ability to discriminate self versus non-self among the
myriad antigens that can be present in different locations in an organism at various times …