Origins and history of autoimmunity—A brief review

Abstract

AbstractIt was not widely recognized, until the 1950s, that an immune response could be developed not only against “foreign” but also “self” antigens from the studies of chronic thyroiditis leading to the acceptance of autoimmune diseases. Paul Ehrlich coined the term “horror autotoxicus” to emphasize the pathogenesis of autoimmunity and how the immune system distinguishes “foreign” from “self”. The process led to the concept of immune tolerance. The discoveries of allergy and anaphylaxis were the first signs that the immune system was capable of self‐damage. The first autoantibodies were discovered in the 1940s, when antinuclear antibodies and rheumatoid factors were described as serum factors that could bind nuclear antigens and immunoglobulins, respectively. It has now becoming increasingly understandable that autoantibodies play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of several diseases and mediate systemic inflammation and tissue injury. The purpose of this review article is to elucidate, explain, and emphasize the origins and history of autoimmunity.