What is autoimmunity?

What is autoimmunity?

• A. An inappropriate immune response to one's own healthy tissues
• B. An allergic reaction to environmental antigens
• C. Immune response to invading pathogens
• D. Overproduction of antibodies to vaccines

Answer: (A)

Autoimmunity is an inappropriate immune response against the body's own tissues, arising when self-tolerance fails and autoreactive immune cells attack self-antigens. Normally the immune system learns to ignore self-components, but when this tolerance breaks down, T and B cells can target organs and cause inflammation and damage. This underlies autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. This idea differs from an allergic reaction, which is a hypersensitivity to environmental antigens, and from the normal immune response to invading pathogens or the immune activation aimed at vaccines, which targets foreign, not self, components.

Autoimmunity is an inappropriate immune response against the body's own tissues, arising when self-tolerance fails and autoreactive immune cells attack self-antigens. Normally the immune system learns to ignore self-components, but when this tolerance breaks down, T and B cells can target organs and cause inflammation and damage. This underlies autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type 1 diabetes, and multiple sclerosis. This idea differs from an allergic reaction, which is a hypersensitivity to environmental antigens, and from the normal immune response to invading pathogens or the immune activation aimed at vaccines, which targets foreign, not self, components.