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A 7 year old girl presented to her local hospital for the second time in 3 months with arthralgia, a migratory skin rash and fever for 5 days. She was admitted and within 2 days…

Introduction Erlich put forward the term ‘horror autotoxicus’ to refer to the body’s aversion to immunological self-destruction, and postulated that mechanisms must prevent reaction against self Healthy individuals have a smouldering autoimmune response that can escape control (a system of many checks and balances) to cause autoimmune disorders A major area of interest is how Read More

Background Tolerance is induced and maintained both centrally and peripherally, each with a non-redundant function in maintaining receptor diversity while curtailing self-reactivity It was observed more than 50 years ago that non-identical twin calves sharing a placenta do not react to each other’s erythrocytes, and it was hypothesised that in utero exposure rendered them tolerant Read More

Introduction Epigenetic mechanisms have been shown to regulate many genes including those involved in inflammation and the immune response Epigenetic mechanisms include DNA methylation, DNA hydroxymethylation, post-translational modifications (PTMs) of histone proteins, nucleosome remodeling and regulation by non-coding RNAs These different mechanisms work in concert with cis and trans acting elements to drive gene expression Read More

Introduction Erlich put forward the term ‘horror autotoxicus’ to refer to the body’s aversion to immunological self destruction, and postulated that mechanisms must prevent reaction against self Healthy individuals have a smouldering autoimmune response that can escape control (a system of many checks and balances) to cause autoimmune disorders A major area of interest is Read More

Introduction Erlich put forward the term ‘horror autotoxicus’ to refer to the body’s aversion to immunological self destruction, and postulated that mechanisms must prevent reaction against self Healthy individuals have a smouldering autoimmune response that can escape control (a system of many checks and balances) to cause autoimmune disorders A major area of interest is Read More

Aetiology of Autoimmune Diseases Although underlying molecular etiologies remain elusive for most autoimmune diseases, it is thought that autoimmunity is multifactorial, resulting from a complex interplay between genetic susceptibility, environmental triggers, and aberrant immune regulation [Table 1, FIGURE 1]   Table 1. Aetiology of autoimmune diseases   Aetiology: Genetics There is ample evidence for genetic Read More

Introduction The immune system’s three basic functions are Defence, Surveillance and Homeostasis Elaborate and redundant tolerance mechanisms are in effect both during maturation and later in the lymphocyte life-cycle, leading to clonal deletion or anergy Anergy can be reversed to allow recruitment of autoreactive clones to maximise receptor diversity (e.g. during infection) Autoimmunity (Table 1) Read More

Introduction The immune system’s three basic functions are Defence, Surveillance and Homeostasis Elaborate and redundant tolerance mechanisms are in effect both during maturation and later in the lymphocyte life-cycle, leading to clonal deletion or anergy Anergy can be reversed to allow recruitment of autoreactive clones to maximise receptor diversity (e.g. during infection) Autoimmunity (Table 1) Read More

Introduction Erlich put forward the term ‘horror autotoxicus’ to refer to the body’s aversion to immunological self destruction, and postulated that mechanisms must prevent reaction against self Healthy individuals have a smouldering autoimmune response that can escape control (a system of many checks and balances) to cause autoimmune disorders A major area of interest is Read More