Unless you're twins, you're unlikely to be mistaken for someone else. Similarly, since childhood, we have had a strong sense of self as separate from all other human beings.
The immune system, on the other hand, has a far harder time separating itself from non-self. If this sophisticated monitoring system fails to detect a foreign invader, such as a germ or virus, severe and uncontrollable sickness might occur.
However, under some situations, the immune system can become hyper-vigilant, mistaking our own tissues for alien objects and attacking them, resulting in autoimmune illness. Some tumors have been linked to autoimmune responses.
Joshua LaBer of Arizona State University and his colleagues tracked immune system components called autoantibodies in a recent investigation. Autoantibodies have been linked to a variety of devastating autoimmune disorders, but investigations have discovered that they may also be detected in healthy people.
This feature may make the clinical use of autoantibodies as autoimmune disease sentinels more difficult, emphasizing the significance of further research.
Better understanding of the incidence and significance of autoantibodies in human health and illness might lead to the development of more effective diagnostics and therapies for a variety of disorders.
Dr. Laber is the Executive Director of ASU's Biodesign Institute and the Biodesign Institute's Director of Research. The Center for Personalized Diagnostics is directed by Virginia G. Piper.
Biological civil war
Autoimmune illnesses are a common occurrence, affecting over 23 million people in the United States. Over 80 autoimmune illnesses have been found by researchers, including familiar diseases like type 1 diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as more obscure disorders that can be difficult to detect. Women account for over 80% of autoimmune disorders, for reasons that experts are still attempting to figure out.
The fundamental processes that cause autoimmune responses are still a mystery to science. Infection is frequently the cause of such disorders. Autoimmunity is influenced by the two basic components of the so-called adaptive immune system. T cells and B cells are white blood cells, often known as lymphocytes. Lymphocytes are necessary for life and are critical for sustaining health. The presence of foreign substances known as antigens is detected by these sentinels, who are continually monitoring the bloodstream.
Pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi are protected by T cells. They're also capable of attacking and destroying cancer cells. Antibodies are proteins secreted by B cells that either disrupt the connection or target infected cells for destruction by other cells. Antibodies neutralize the detrimental effects of foreign substances such as viruses and poisons by binding to them. If an antibody attaches to a virus, for example, it can prevent the invader from infecting a healthy cell. B cells can also recruit other specialized immune cells to assist them in migrating to contaminated cell locations and destroying them.