Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0004364 (autoimmune disease)
 24,845 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We studied a five-year-old girl with several autoimmune disorders and a 16-year-old boy with acquired agammaglobulinemia to determine whether aberrations of immunoregulatory T cells could explain some instances of immunodeficiency or autoimmunity. The normal peripheral blood T-cell population, as defined by specific heteroantiserums, is 20 per cent TH2+ and 80 per cent TH2-. Human suppressor cells are TH2+, whereas helper cells are TH2-. In addition, each subset expresses Ia antigens upon activation. Our patient with autoimmune disease had no demonstrable TH2+ cells, and her lymphocytes could not be induced to suppress. Her circulating T cells were of an activated-helper phenotype, i.e., TH2-,Ia+. In contrast, in the boy with agammaglobulinemia, the T-cell population was predominantly of an activated-suppressor phenotype, i.e., TH2+,Ia+. This patient's T cells abrogated both his own and his histoidentical brother's B-cell secretion of immunoglobulins. We conclude that the characterization of T cells may provide insight into the causes of a number of abnormal immune states in man.
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PMID:Abnormalities of immunoregulatory T cells in disorders of immune function. 15 8

The subject of Clinical Immunology is developing hand in hand with a wide and rapidly moving area of laboratory technology. The result is a better understanding of autoimmune disease, tissue transplantation rejection, foetal-maternal incompatibility, allergic disease, immunodeficiency disorders, adverse reactions to drugs, aberrant responses to bacterial and viral infections, and growth and spread of malignant cells. Basic to this understanding is the need to appreciate the character and composition of natural substances which act as immunogens and elicit antibodies. These substances have, according to their origin, been classified as autoantigens, alloantigens, xenoantigens and neoantigens. This review summarizes our knowledge relating to such antigens, emphasizing those aspects relevant to human disease and pointing to the major gaps that future research must bridge.
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PMID:Tissue antigens: autoantigens, alloantigens, xenoantigens and neoantigens. 32 26

Transcobalamin II (TC II) is a serum protein responsible for transporting vitamin B12 to the cells. A previous observation of a child with congenital TC II deficiency and agammaglobulinemia suggested that this protein plays an important role in the immune response. Accordingly, TC II levels ere determined in 32 patients with autoimmune disease (AID) (i.e. 26 with lupus erythematosus, 4 with dermatomyositis, and 2 with autoimmune hemolytic anemia) and in 40 patients with acquired immunodeficiency due to chemotherapy. It was found that elevated TC II levels corresponded to active phases of AID. Changes in TC II levels correlated better with the clinical course of AID than complement, antinuclear antibody or native DNA binding capacity. This suggests that TC II could be a valuable parameter in following up activity of AID.
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PMID:[Increase of unsaturated transcobalamine II in autoimmune diseases; effect of immunosuppressive therapy (proceedings)]. 69 99

In this review I have described the pathophysiology of allergic disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Situations where the intestine cannot be a complete barrier to foreign allergens and antigens were discussed and etiological factors of gastrointestinal allergy were detailed. Clinical features of gastrointestinal allergy include diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain and colic, intestinal hemorrhage and malabsorption as well as symptoms and signs outside the gastrointestinal tract such as chronic rhinitis and asthma in the respiratory system, urticaria, angioedema and eczema as dermatological signs, headache, insomnia, hyperkinesis as central nervous system manifestations, failure to thrive and anaphylaxis as constitutional reactions. Milk allergy was discussed as an example of food allergy. Immunology of the gastrointestinal tract was presented, with examples of four types of hypersensitivity reactions, and gastrointestinal disturbances of immunodeficiency disorders and syndromes were named. Lastly, the autoimmune mechanism and the gut were described, with particular discussion of ulcerative colitis as an example of an autoimmune disease.
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PMID:The intestine in allergic diseases. 78 84

Autoimmune disorders are reportedly more frequent than expected in immunodeficient patients and in their relatives. The hypothesis that genetic factors related to immunodeficiency may predispose to the development of autoimmunity was studied in relatives of patients with variable immunodeficiency (VID), ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T), or X-linked infantile agammaglobulinaemia (X-LA). Close relatives of patients with VID or A-T had thyroid and gastric autoantibodies significantly more frequently than did control subjects. No abnormalities were detected in unaffected relatives of X-LA patients. The increased incidence of organ-specific autoantibodies in close relatives of VID patients was confined to those families with more than one member with immunodeficiency. These data suggest that there are at least two forms of VID, one of which is associated with familial autoimmunity. It is postulated that heterozygous carriers of the A-T gene and persons with genes involved in the development of VID may exhibit T-lymphocyte dysfunction which predisposes them to autoimmunity.
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PMID:Autoimmunity in the relatives of patients with immunodeficiency diseases. 89 Oct 19

The following aspects of autoimmunity and immunodeficiency will be discussed: 1) Autoantibodies and autoimmunity and their relationships to human disease and particularly to the rheumatic diseases. 2) Relationships between human immunodeficiency diseases and autoimmunity including: a) autoimmune disease in patients with immunodeficiency; b) arthritis in patients with immunodeficiency; c) lupus-like illness in carriers of chronic granulomatous disease; d) occurrence of autoantibodies and autoimmunity in relatives of patients with immunodeficiency. 3) Immunodeficiency as a basis for human rheumatic or autoimmune diseases. The role of immunodeficiency in NZB mouse diseases and human SLE. 4) The role of viral infections in autoimmune disease.
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PMID:Immunodeficiency and autoimmunity. 109 77

In general, both cell-mediated and humoral immune activities decline with advancing age and, associated with this decline, is an increase in the incidence of certain types of autoimmune disease, cancer and infection. Not only may the relationship be causal, but the former may be a significant factor involved in the expression of the latter. Discussion is focused primarily on the relative contribution of extrinsic and intrinsic factors responsible for the immunodeficiency of aging individuals.
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PMID:Immunodeficiency and autoimmunity in aging. 117 Sep 4

Recurrent bacterial infections, lymphadenopathy, and failure to thrive are unlikely to be attributed to immune deficiency if they occur in the presence of hypergammaglobulinaemia, and other explanations will usually be sought. We describe eight patients who presented with all these features in infancy or early childhood. Deficiencies of immunoglobulin and antibody production were initially discounted, and the children were referred for investigation of possible lymphoma, autoimmune disease, or chronic viral infection. The patients were later referred to us for more detailed immunological investigation, which revealed low levels of IgG2 and poor specific antibody production to common pathogens. Treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin resulted in resolution of signs and symptoms in all patients. Thus we have shown that hypergammaglobulinaemia does not preclude the presence of immunoglobulin/antibody deficiency. We suggest that investigation of children with high levels of IgG and features of immunodeficiency should include IgG subclass analysis.
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PMID:Immunodeficiency presenting as hypergammaglobulinaemia with IgG2 subclass deficiency. 135 93

In the decade since the early 1980s, the increasing use of immunosuppressive therapy for cancer and autoimmune disease, as well as for organ transplantation, has combined with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome epidemic to increase greatly the incidence of opportunistic infections and other complications of the gastrointestinal tract. Consequently, barium fluoroscopic and cross-sectional imaging studies tailored to address these problems are no longer uncommon. Although overlap exists, there are radiographic patterns that can direct the diagnosis to an opportunistic infection and sometimes to a specific pathogen. This article describes and illustrates the radiographic findings of gastrointestinal superinfection with Candida albicans, cytomegalovirus, Cryptosporidium spp, herpes simplex virus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M avium-intracellulare, and human immunodeficiency virus. Other gastrointestinal tract complications of immunosuppression are discussed, including graft-versus-host disease following bone marrow transplantation, typhlitis, and pseudomembranous colitis.
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PMID:Gastrointestinal tract in the immunocompromised host: opportunistic infections and other complications. 141 Mar 32

Even though thymulin was isolated, sequenced and characterised some 20 years ago and later identified as a thymic hormone involved in immunomodulation, much more work is still required to further understanding of the mechanisms of action(s) of this peptide. Since the observation, by a semiquantitative bioassay, of diminished levels of thymulin in immunodeficiency and autoimmune disease, new data obtained by radioimmunoassay have not only confirmed previous observations but also demonstrated that thymulin plays a role in the interaction between the immune system and the neuro-endocrine system. In this paper we give an up to date account of recent developments in research into the role of thymulin in immunomodulation.
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PMID:Thymulin and its role in immunomodulation. 141 92


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