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Core Concepts in Immunology: The Definition of Autoimmunity and Its Unique Application to the Seat of Tolerance, the Liver

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Liver Immunology

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Abstract

The immune system comprises two major arms: the innate immune system, which is activated following the detection of danger molecules by highly conserved receptors, and a second line of defense known as adaptive immunity, which provides an enormous anticipatory repertoire of antigen-specific effector cells and antibodies.

The liver is an important immune organ, and liver-derived products can trigger the innate and adaptive immune system to initiate, mediate, regulate, and resolve systemic inflammation. The unique anatomy and microanatomy of the liver enables the generation of distinct immune responses. Generally, the immune responses elicited in the liver are skewed toward tolerance in response to the constant exposure of an enormous antigen load from the gut. An important mechanism leading to liver tolerance is antigen presentation by nonprofessional and/or immature hepatic antigen-presenting cells.

Autoimmune diseases occur when a specific adaptive immune response is mounted against self-antigens. A combination of genetic and environmental factors plays a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders. The development of autoimmunity specifically in the liver, a tolerogenic organ, is a great paradox. The reasons for that are largely obscured currently and hopefully will be uncovered utilizing novel scientific methods in the near future.

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Acknowledgment

The authors of the present extensively revised edition of this chapter are indebted to the authors of the previous editions who developed the original template for this review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ehud Zigmond

  2. Department of Liver Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Shishir Shetty

Authors
  1. Ehud Zigmond
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  2. Shishir Shetty
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ehud Zigmond .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, The University of California School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA

    M. Eric Gershwin

  2. Departments of Medicine and Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    John M. Vierling

  3. Department of Medicine, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Itabashi, Tokyo, Japan

    Atsushi Tanaka

  4. President, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany

    Michael P. Manns

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Zigmond, E., Shetty, S. (2020). Core Concepts in Immunology: The Definition of Autoimmunity and Its Unique Application to the Seat of Tolerance, the Liver. In: Gershwin, M.E., M. Vierling, J., Tanaka, A., P. Manns, M. (eds) Liver Immunology . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-51709-0_1

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