CONTROL OF AUTOIMMUNITY

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief commentary on the control of autoimmunity. Autoantigen binding lymphocytes exist in normal individuals and that polyclonal B cell activators (e.g., LPS) can reversibly induce autoantibodies in normal mice. Moreover, the self-recognition of membrane antigens related either to V region genes (that is, idiotypes) or to immune response genes is the basis of cellular interaction and regulatory control in the immune system. Indeed, the existence of anti-receptor autoantibodies (that is, to insulin or acetylcholine receptors) raises the possibility that the immune system may have originated to regulate the body's internal environment rather than for host defense (although the latter exerts an important selective pressure). The reversible states of autoimmunity ( for example, induced by drugs) should be distinguished from autoimmune diseases. The latter are multifactorial and probably arise from genetically determined states of disordered immunologic regulation. The existence of new mouse strains that develop lupus, and the ability to experimentally induce antireceptor diseases, such as myasthenia gravis, should lead to further progress in this direction.