Autoimmunity

Abstract

Paul Ehrlich introduced the term “horror autotoxicus” to circumscribe the observation that an organism would not react under normal conditions against its own constituents (containment of auto-reactivity, self-tolerance). A mechanism by which self-tolerance might be established was proposed by Burnet and became known as clonal abortion (deletion) theory: during fetal life, lymphocytes for self-determinants are eliminated (forbidden clones). First indications that this theory might not be an explanation for self-tolerance were obtained by Witebsky and Rose in 1956. These authors could demonstrate that rabbits were able to produce antibodies specific for their own thyroglobulin when immunized with thyroglobulin in complete Freund’s adjuvant. Subsequent studies revealed that normal individuals possessed B lymphocytes able to bind specifically thyroglobulin. Elimination of these B cells by binding of highly labeled thyroglobulin (suicide) prevents the formation of antibodies and the development of an autoimmune thyroiditis.