The immune system is a complex symphony of cells, chemicals, and proteins that mounts well-coordinated, specialized attacks on invading pathogens and unruly cells. This is all well and good until the immune system starts attacking something it shouldn’t: you.

Why It Matters

Odds are, you or someone you know suffers from an autoimmune disease or a disease caused by the body’s immune system attacking healthy cells.

• Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type I diabetes, thyroid diseases, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis are common autoimmune diseases.
• Nearly 80% of autoimmune cases affect women.
• There is no cure for autoimmune diseases, but treatments are available to manage disease symptoms.

The Bigger Picture

The immune system has two broad forms of immunity: specific and nonspecific.

Nonspecific immunity consists of barriers (skin), cells (white blood cells), and proteins (cytokines) tasked with defending the body at first contact.

Specific immunity refers to specialized cells (B-cells and T-cells) and proteins (antibodies) that attack pathogens by attaching to a specific three-dimensional shape or antigen found on the foreign microbe.

What Goes Wrong

Researchers don’t know why some people develop autoimmune diseases, and others don’t. Factors contributing to autoimmune disease include genetics, stress, and exposure to chemicals or infection. Whatever the trigger, autoimmune diseases result when T-cells and B-cells are activated by self-antigens. This results in destruction of healthy cells by the body’s own immune system.

At Work

Biologics like Humira (Abbvie), Enbrel (Amgen), and Rituxan (Genentech) shut down key parts of the immune response, like one’s own B-cells that target the joints, to treat autoimmune disorders.

We Have You Covered

What do autoimmune diseases, cancer, vaccines, and immunotherapies share? They trick the immune system into illness or wellness. To understand how this trickery occurs, consider Immunology Primer 101 and Immunology Primer 201 to learn the basics. Use the coupon code IMMUNITY and get $100 off when purchasing both; the offer is good until August 1, 2024.

Cocktail Fodder

Exposing yourself to more animal feces by living on a farm or having a pet may decrease your chance of developing an autoimmune disease, or so says the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.