Autoimmune diseases Flashcards
Define autoimmunity.
Immune response against the host due to the loss of immunological tolerance of self antigen(s). (In healthy individuals, there is some degree of autoimmunity)
Define autoimmune disease.
Disease caused by tissue damage or disturbed physiological responses due to an auto-immune response.
What are the different clinical patterns of autoimmune disease?
* Organ specific – one or multiple self antigens within once single organ or tissue
* Non-organ specific – wide distributed self antigens throughout the bod
Why are non-organ specific autoimmune diseases more difficult to manage than organ specific autoimmune diseases?
Non-organ specific autoimmune diseases are more difficult to manage because they require non-specific drugs which could have an impact on the morbidity and mortality of the patient.
Give some examples of common autoimmune diseases and their target autoantigens.
(in terms of organ specific and non-organ specific)
Give some examples of common autoimmune diseases and their clinical features
Depending on the type of hypersensitivity reaction that occurs, there are different immune mechanisms of damage for each autoimmune disease.
What are the different immune mechanisms of tissue damage
* Autoantibodies
- o Complement activation
- o Antibody-mediated cell cytotoxicity
- o Neutrophil activation
* Autoreactive T cells
- o Cytotoxic T cells
- o Macrophages
What are the criteria that need to be fulfilled to confirm that a disease is autoimmune?
* Presence of autoantibodies/autoreactive T cells (indicates loss of tolerance)
* Levels of autoantibodies correlate with disease severity
* Autoantibodies/autoreactive T cells found at the site of tissue damage
* Transfer of autoantibody or autoreactive T cells to a healthy host induces the autoimmune disease
* Clinical benefit provided by immunomodulatory therapy
* Family history
name diseases indiced by these
What are the triggers for autoimmunity?
Genetic factors
Environmental factors
o Hormones – more common in women
o Infections
o Drugs
name some infection induced autoimmune disorders
(name pathogen and disease in causes)
name some drug- induced autoimmune disorders
Management of autoimmune diseases
What are monoclonal antibodies?
Monoclonal just means all one type. So each MAB is a lot of copies of one type of antibody.
MABs are made in a laboratory.
What are the uses of monoclonal antibodies/magic bullet?
- Diagnostics
- Therapeutic
- Cancer
- Blood/haematological cancers
- Solid tumours
- Auto-immune conditions
