StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Autoimmunity - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "The Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Autoimmunity" focuses on the immune system of the body that is programmed to identify and attack foreign antigens. Autoimmunity is a disorder of the immune system when self-tolerance is abolished…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.2% of users find it useful
The Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Autoimmunity
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Autoimmunity"

To understand the mechanism behind autoimmunity, it is imperative to understand the mechanism behind self-tolerance. Immunological tolerance can be central or peripheral (Mitchell et al 2006). In central tolerance, immature T cells which recognize self-tissues are destroyed in the thymus and similar B cells are destroyed in the bone marrow. Peripherally, mature lymphocytes which are autoreactive and escape developmental deletion in thymus and bone marrow, are either destroyed or inactivated by various methods such as energy, clonal deletion by apoptosis, and suppression by regulatory T cells (Mitchell et al 2006).

Extensive research has been conducted in this field to understand the mechanisms that allow tolerance to be bypassed, allowing autoreactive lymphocytes to escape and thereby, contribute to the pathogenesis of autoimmunity. It has been demonstrated that a combination of genetic and environmental factors is responsible. The following mechanisms have been proposed: 1) Genetic factors – The role played by genetic factors in the development of autoimmunity can be easily explained by single-gene disorders in which there is a direct correlation between the genetic variant and the disease, for example, the gene for insulin in type 1 diabetes and AIRE (autoimmune regulator) in APS 1(autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome).

In both these disorders, there is a lack of thymic expression and autoreactive T cells escape tolerance. One more example is of foxp3 gene whose mutations lead to the development of autoimmune disease by T regulator cell dysfunction. Also, Fas mutation causes the autoimmune lymphoproliferative syndrome, as autoreactive T and B cells fail to undergo apoptosis. Thus, different mechanisms of energy, T cell regulation, and apoptosis of autoreactive lymphocytes appear to be involved here (Rioux & Abbas 2005).

However, these single gene autoimmune disorders are infrequent and most commonly, autoimmune disorders are multi-genetic diseases. Sequence variations and single nucleotide polymorphism in genomic mapping have been found for diseases such as type 1 diabetes (genetic locus is in the major histocompatibility complex), Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and SLE.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(Describe the mechanisms that contribute to the development of Essay, n.d.)
Describe the mechanisms that contribute to the development of Essay. https://studentshare.org/biology/1774376-describe-the-mechanisms-that-contribute-to-the-development-of-autoimmunity-how-may-the-role-of-reglulatory-t-cells-be-altered-in-patients-suffering-from-autoimmunity
(Describe the Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Essay)
Describe the Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Essay. https://studentshare.org/biology/1774376-describe-the-mechanisms-that-contribute-to-the-development-of-autoimmunity-how-may-the-role-of-reglulatory-t-cells-be-altered-in-patients-suffering-from-autoimmunity.
“Describe the Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Essay”. https://studentshare.org/biology/1774376-describe-the-mechanisms-that-contribute-to-the-development-of-autoimmunity-how-may-the-role-of-reglulatory-t-cells-be-altered-in-patients-suffering-from-autoimmunity.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Mechanisms That Contribute to the Development of Autoimmunity

The Recognition of the Death of Cells by Apoptosis

This suggests that the hindrance of apoptotic signaling is linked with the control of development and survival signaling, and that curative strategy merging two or more agents that concurrently aim these signaling pathways will have enhanced anti-MM actively (Figg & Folkman, 2008, p 34)....
16 Pages (4000 words) Dissertation

Addison's Disease and Adrenal Insufficiency

Addison's Disease-General Overview Abstract Addison's disease is an adrenal insufficiency disorder that arises because of autoimmunity, diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis, or X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy.... autoimmunity remains the chief cause of Addison's disease in Europe and in Africa, although the incidence rates in Africa are comparatively low.... Key Words: Addison's disease; Adrenal insufficiency; autoimmunity Introduction Addison's disease is an endocrine and immunological disorder that leads to adrenal insufficiency....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Diabetes Type 1

This research paper "Diabetes Type 1" perfectly demonstrates that one hundred seventy-six thousand and five hundred people under the age of 20 years had diabetes in 2005, which accounts for 0.... 2% of all disease in this age group in the United States.... ... ... ... Approximately one in every 400 to 600 children and adolescents currently has type 1 diabetes....
11 Pages (2750 words) Research Paper

Preventing Diabetes and Obesity

Pre-emption and treatment of type 1 diabetes is possible, but more research is necessary to gain full understanding and identify accurately the activating factors causing autoimmunity.... Samantha Wahrsager Course Tutor 7 August 2012 Preventing Diabetes and Obesity Introduction Type 1 (T1D) and type 2 (T2D) diabetes, which are autoimmune disorders, are most common....
6 Pages (1500 words) Research Paper

Vitiligo: Causes and Treatment

According to the convergence theory, many factors such as stress, mutations, autoimmunity, infection, accumulation of toxic compounds, and impaired cellular migration can converge together to contribute to the pathogenesis of Vitiligo.... The review "Vitiligo: Causes and Treatment" focuses on the critical analysis of the major causes and treatment of vitiligo, an acquired skin disease of unknown etiology that is characterized by loss of pigmentation and development of white macules....
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

Autoimmunity and risk of cancet

The actions of TNF result in fibroblast growth which can destroy blood vessels and at the same time contribute to angiogenesis (Kollias et al, 1999).... autoimmunity and Risk of Cancer Introduction autoimmunity is the term used to refer to the activity of the immune system directed against the constituent histological components of an organism.... CD40L-CD40 interaction) may lead to autoimmunity (Rose & Mackay, 2006).... Some of these clones can possibly cross-react with self-antigens resulting in transient or permanent autoimmunity (Ohashi, 2002)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

The Mechanisms by Which Inflammatory and Hypersensitive Reactions to Parasites Serve as a Defence

In most cases, the host by releasing appropriate antibodies against the parasite has been able to counter the pathogenic parasites especially if done in time as the case of the Eosinophil recruitment against extracellular helminths where the limitation of stage development necessitates destruction in the early larval stage of the helminths....
8 Pages (2000 words) Term Paper

Autoimmune Diseases : Biological Basis and Methods of Detection

The process of autoimmunity is related to genes or a combination of genes, hormones, and environmental stimuli.... B-cell hyperactivity is probably related to T-cell abnormalities, but the molecular basis for autoimmunity is poorly understood.... This coursework describes Autoimmune Diseases, their biological basis, and methods of detection....
9 Pages (2250 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us