What is autoimmunity?

➢ Ehrlich used the term autoimmunity to signify an immune response against self. ➢ Over the years, autoimmunity has been recognized as not uncommon and not necessarily detrimental. ➢ All humans have many self-reactive antibodies in the blood but most show no sign of disease. ➢ Consequently the identification of autoantibodies is not a sufficient diagnostic tool for determining the presence of an autoimmune disorder ➢ There is a difference between an autoimmune response and disease: in the former case the autoantibodies do not cause dysfunction, but in the latter case they do. Autoimmunity may be asx, autoimmune diseases lead to inflammatory response and tissue injury