All Posts Tagged With: "autoimmunity"

Link: http://www.plospathogens.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.ppat.1001077

Excerpt:

Autoimmunity refers to an inappropriate immune response against self-components of the host that results in pathological conditions. Autoimmune diseases are characterized by an activation of autoreactive T and B cells, are associated in some cases with the production of pathogenic autoantibodies against self-molecules, culminating in inflammation and tissue damage. The reasons for the breakdown of tolerance mechanisms leading to autoimmunity are not clearly known. However, a combination of genetic, immunological, and environmental factors plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of autoimmunity 

Link: http://www.vetscite.org/publish/items/006234/index.html

Excerpt:

An 11-year study of a population of wild sheep located on a
remote island off the coast of Scotland that gauged the animals’
susceptibility to infection may give new insight into why some
people get sicker than others when exposed to the same illness.
The answer to this medical puzzle may lie in deep-rooted
differences in how animals survive and reproduce in the wild,
according to the study, which was led by Princeton ecologist
Andrea Graham and published in the Oct. 29 issue of Science. The
research revealed that the sheep population over time has
maintained a balance of those with weaker and stronger levels of
immunity and fertility. “This is a groundbreaking study that to
my mind will change our whole understanding of the
immunoheterogenity in animal populations,” said Peter Hudson, the
Willaman Professor of Biology and director of life sciences at
Penn State University. “Graham and colleagues show beautifully
the tradeoffs in the immune system as a balance… that maximizes
reproductive output.”

Infectious agents have been implicated in the etiopathogenesis of various
vasculitides via numerous and overlapping mechanisms including direct microbial
invasion of endothelial cells, immune complex mediated vessel wall damage and
stimulation of autoreactive B and/or T cells through molecular mimicry and
superantigens. While the causative role of hepatitis B virus in polyarteritis
nodosa and hepatitis C virus in mixed cryoglobulinemia is clearly established,
evidence for the association of other infectious agents with vasculitis,
including human immunodeficiency virus, parvovirus B19, cytomegalovirus,
varicella zoster virus, Staphylococcus aureus, rickettsiaceae, Treponema
pallidum and Borrelia burgdorferi, among numerous others, is accumulating. The
spectrum of association of infectious agents; bacteria, viruses and parasites,
with systemic vasculitides, will be reviewed herewith. Continued