| Causes of Scleroderma (MAIN MENU) |
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| Cause of Scleroderma: Autoimmunity |
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| What is Autoimmunity? |
| Diseases weaken immunity. If you or a family member has an autoimmune disease the likelihood of developing another disorder is increased. Also, the diseases run in families, with different family members often suffering from different disorders. The Daily Advertiser. 08/29/06. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Genetics) |
| What is Autoimmunity? The healthy human body is equipped with a powerful set of tools for resisting the onslaught of invading microorganisms (such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites). Unfortunately, this set of tools, known as the immune system, sometimes goes awry and attacks the body itself. John Hopkins Autoimmune Disease Research Center 09/10/2001. |
| Hotline To The Brain. A direct connection exists between the brain and the immune system at least in mice. Scientists conducted a comprehensive study of mice intestine and the surrounding blood and lymph vessels and found numerous immune cells imbedded in the tissue around the intestine joined to nerve strands and cells. Medical News Today. 02/11/07. |
| Autoimmune disorders studied in detail by University of Michigan researchers. Researchers have been able to identify the modalities of a drug that is capable of rectifying autoimmune disorders and other types of diseases. Med India. 07/09/06. |
| Researchers uncover a pathway linked to Autoimmune disease. In a series of discoveries that has the potential to help researchers halt autoimmune disorders (such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis) one Rockefeller University scientist has found an underlying mechanism that begins to explain the pathologies of a number of immune diseases. Journal of Experimental Medicine 203(3): 789-797. 03/29/06. (Also see: IVIg and Scleroderma Clinical Trials: Positive Results) |
| Women
and autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases affect
approximately 8% of the population, 78% of whom are women.
The reasons for the high prevalence in women are unknown,
but circumstantial evidence links autoimmune diseases with
preceding infections. Sex hormones may further amplify
this hyperimmune response to infection in susceptible persons,
which leads to an increased prevalence of autoimmune diseases
in women. PubMed. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004 Nov;10(11):2005-11. |
| Autophagy |
Stem
Cell Finding Could Help Fight Autoimmune Disease. In
a finding that could help researchers better understand
autoimmune disease, scientists say a process called autophagy
prompts dying embryonic stem cells to send out "eat
me" and "come and get me" signals to ensure
their elimination by healthy cells. The findings also suggest
that defects in autophagy might trigger autoimmune diseases
and, if so, reversing the defects could potentially help
treat such diseases. Health Central.com 03/15/07. |
| U-M
researcher examines the cell's housekeeping habits. The
cells of higher organisms have an internal mechanism for
chewing up and recycling parts of themselves, particularly
in times of stress, like starvation and disease. But nobody
is quite sure yet whether this recently discovered process
protects cells, or causes damage. University of Michigan
11-04-04. |
| Autoimmunity: B Cells
and T Cells |
| Autoimmunity:
B Cells and T Cells. T Cells are white blood cells that
help stimulate an immune response to infections. Sometimes
T cells become overactive, which is suspected as being part
of the process that leads to autoimmune diseases. ISN. |
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| Autoimmunity and Scleroderma |
| Scleroderma and Antibodies. ISN. |
| Altered
B lymphocyte function induces systemic autoimmunity in
systemic sclerosis. B cell signaling thresholds are
regulated by response regulators that augment or diminish
B cell signals during responses to self and foreign antigens.
Abnormal regulation of the response regulator function
and expression may result in autoantibody production. PubMed.
Mol Immunol. 2005 May;42(7):821-31. |
| Autoantibodies
to the epidermal growth factor receptor in systemic sclerosis,
lupus, and autoimmune mice. Compared with control human
subjects without autoimmune disease, the frequency of exEGFR-binding
autoantibodies was increased in scleroderma (systemic sclerosis)
patients and to a lesser extent in lupus patients. PubMed.
FASEB J 2003 Feb;17(2):136-143. |
| Expression
of macrophage migration inhibitory factor in diffuse systemic
sclerosis. These results suggest that MIF may be involved
in the amplifying proinflammatory loop leading to scleroderma
tissue remodelling. PubMed. Ann Rheum Dis 2003 May;62(5):460-4. |
