Advances in RAB Research
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2018): Advances in Regulatory Autoantibody Research
https://doi.org/10.18416/RAB.2018.1809001

Research Article, ID Advances in RAB Research, Vol 1, No 1, 2018 • Article ID: 1809001 • DOI: 10.18416/RAB.2018.1809001

The mosaic of autoimmunity: Why we develop autoimmune diseases
The microbiome and metabolism

Main Article Content

Yehuda Shoenfeld 

Abstract

Background: Autoimmune diseases are conditions in which the immune system damages normal components of the individual. Initially it was thought that autoimmune disease was the inevitable outcome of the presence of clones of lymphocytes with receptors that recognize self-antigens. Thus tolerance to self, the state of non-autoimmunity, was due to the absence of self-recognizing lymphocytes, the 'forbidden' culprits of autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases were found to be multifactorial in their etiology. For practical reasons these factors are classified into four categories:
Genetic, which entail the MHC class I, II, and III. A case in point will be the haplotypes of HLA-DRB1 which are prevalent in many classical diseases.
Immune deficiencies: C1q C2, C4 and IgA deficiencies are among the most common defects associated with diverse autoimmune conditions.
Hormonal state, most autoimmune diseases are detected in females at the child bearing ages. The role of estrogens will be delineated. In addition, other hormones play a role i.e. prolactin.
Environmental causes: Those are the most important as a trigger factors determining the time and type of disease. They entail infectious agents, chemicals, adjuvants, drugs and even vaccines. We will discuss smoking, different types of food (i.e. salt, coffee, chocolate, spicy food, etc.) and their effect on the microbiome.
The type of disease in an individual, in an autoimmune prone family, will be determined by the specific combination of the different factors mentioned above. A special emphasis will be put on the component of parasites.

Article Details

References

1) Shoenfeld Y, et al. The mosaic of autoimmunity. IAMJ 2008; 10; pp. 3-7; 8-12; 13-19.
2) Yaxiong Deng, Xin Huang, Haijing Wu, Ming Zhao, Qianjin Lu, Eitan Israeli, Shani Dahan, Miri Blank, Yehuda Shoenfeld. Some like it hot: The emerging role of spicy food (capsaicin) in 3 autoimmune diseases. Autoimmunity Reviews 2016; 15(5): 451-456.
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4) Katchan V, David P, Shoenfeld Y. Cannabinoids and autoimmune diseases: A systematic review. Autoimmunity Reviews 2016; 15: 513–528.

How to Cite

Shoenfeld, Y. (2018). The mosaic of autoimmunity: Why we develop autoimmune diseases: The microbiome and metabolism. Advances in RAB Research, 1(1), Advances in RAB Research, Vol 1, No 1, 2018 –. https://doi.org/10.18416/RAB.2018.1809001

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