3. Autoimmunity

Question 1

What is autoimmunity?

Answer 1

Immune response against the host due to the loss of immunological tolerance of self-antigens

Question 2

What is autoimmune disease?

Answer 2

Disease caused by issue damage or disturbed physiological responses due to an auto-immune response

Question 3

What is the set of criteria for the diagnosis of a disease as autoimmune?

Answer 3

1. Presence of autoantibodies/autoreactive T cells
2. Levels of autoantibodies correlate with disease severity
3. Autoantibodies/autoreactive T cells found at the site of tissue damage
4. Transfer of autoantibodies or auto reactive T cells to a healthy host induces the autoimmune disease
5. Clinical benefit provided by immunomodulatory therapy

Question 4

What are the primary autoantibodies?

Answer 4

Anti-TSHR (Graves)
Anti-acetylcholine receptor (myasthenia)
Anti-voltage gated Ca2+ channel (Lambert-Eaton)
Anti-glomerular basement membrane (Goodpastures)

Question 5

What are the secondary autoantibodies?

Answer 5

Anti-nuclear (SLE)
Anti-gastric parietal cell (pernicious anaemia)
Anti-thyroid peroxydase (Hashimotos)
Anti-rheumatoid factor

Question 6

What triggers autoimmunity?

Answer 6

Genetic

Environmental - hormones, infections, drugs

Question 7

What microbe can lead to rheumatic fever?

Answer 7

Streptococcus pyogenes M protein

Question 8

Which microbe can lead to Guillain-Barré syndrome?

Answer 8

Campylobacter jejuni glycoprotein