Biology Stack Exchange
Biology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [autoimmune]

Questions pertaining to the production of an immune response to self tissues/molecules.

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Why is there no way to remove an immune response?

We've known for a long time now how to "add a new entry to the database," as it were, of immune responses. It's called vaccination, and it's been one of the greatest success stories in the history of medicine. And yet, allergies and autoimmune…
Mason Wheeler
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How does de-myelination occur in multiple sclerosis?

From what I understand, only the oligodendrocytes are affected in multiple sclerosis, and they are attacked by T cells which cross the blood-brain barrier. This leads me to two questions: How is the blood-brain barrier affected in MS that allows T…
Meep
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Autoimmunity and central tolerance

Where in the body are self antigens important? In terms of central tolerance and autoimmunity, but also in terms of T cell activation?
Ddog
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A possible cause of autoimmunity

I read that Doherty and Zinkernagel found that MHC- heterozygotes present more antigens to the immune system than homozygotes; yet, the infected heterozygous mice in their experiment all died, apparently from overresponsiveness. Can…
biogirl
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Are autoantibodies against intracellular proteins "functional"?

Autoantibodies against intracellular proteins have been detected in some autoimmune diseases (For example, TRIM21 in Sjögren's syndrome and NALP5 in Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome Type 1). My question is are these autoantibodies functional (e.g.…
Josuke
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Longevity and extent of transfection after SARS-COV-2 vaccination with Janssen

The Johnson vaccine, unlike the RNA vaccines from Pfizer & Moderna, uses a vector containing DNA encoding for the SARS-COV-2 spike protein. This vector DNA needs to enter the cell, allowing for transcription and translation into viral spike proteins…
AliceD
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Why are certain cells more likely to be attacked in autoimmune conditions?

For example, type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune system attacks and kills beta cells in the pancreas. This is relatively common. What makes beta cells more likely to be targeted than, say, alpha cells in the pancreas?
Adam C
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Is there a link between autoimmune diseases and X-chromosome inactivation?

I was reading about the necessity of niche formations to adequate development of blood progenitors and this idea reminded me of the patchy inactivation of the X chromosome which followed that maybe, if some of these pathways passed through X coded…
user27221
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Immunity during pregnancy

I have learnt that our immune system distinguishes self from non-self by using MHC. So a mother during pregnancy should also develop antibodies against the fetus as it is also a genetically different individual. Answering by saying that antibodies…
biogirl
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Is it possible to transfer acquired hemophilia with breast milk?

There is a transplacental form of acquired hemophilia: http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476%2895%2970132-X/abstract This disease is caused by polyclonal immunoglobulins (IgG1 and IgG4) against the A2 and C2 domains of factor 8. So acquired…
inf3rno
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Do macrophages engulf mtDNA?

Let us assume that in a human body, a mitochondrial DNA is released to extracellular environment. We know that mtDNA inheritance is solely matrilineal. So the question is, If your mitochondrial DNA is released to the extracellular environment (or…
user22406
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When was it determined that Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease?

I just found out today that type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease. When was this discovered?
Kim
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Do all IgG autoantibodies lead to autoimmune diseases?

If there is a presence of autoantibody in our blood, does that mean that we are going to have an autoimmune disease? Are there some autoantibodies which don't cause tissue and organ damage?
Riq
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Meaning of units in ELISA based tests?

For some ELISA based antibody tests (e.g. h-tTg antibody test), labs report units as RU/mL or U/mL. Also different labs have different cut off (normal range) values. I understand that different kit manufacturers recommend different ranges because…
Dayne
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Could bone marrow transplants help make xenotransplants viable?

So the immune system doesn't calibrate (for want of a better euphemism) to recognize it's own cells until fairly well along in fetal development & the major components of the immune system (antibodies, white blood cells, etc) are all produced by…
Pelinore
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