Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2002 Sep;9(3):161-7.
doi: 10.1080/1044667031000137638.

Allergic disease and autoimmune effectors pathways

Menachem Rottem  1 , M Eric Gershwin, Yehuda Shoenfeld
Affiliations
Review

Allergic disease and autoimmune effectors pathways

Menachem Rottem et al. Dev Immunol. 2002 Sep.

Abstract

Allergy and autoimmunity result from dysregulation of the immune system. Until recently, it was generally accepted that the mechanisms that govern these disease processes are quite disparate; however, new discoveries suggest possible common pathogenetic effector pathways. This review illustrates the concomitant presentation of these conditions and the potential relationship or common mechanism in some cases, by looking at the key elements that regulate the immune response in both allergic and autoimmunite conditions: mast cells, antibodies, T cells, cytokines, and genetic determinants. The parallel appearance of allergic and autoimmune conditions in the some patients may reveal that such aberrations of the immune system have a common pathophysiologic mechanism. Mast cells, which play a key role in allergic reactions, and the wealth of inflammatory mediators they express, make it likely that they have profound effects on many autoimmune processes. Activation of protein kinases by inflammatory cytokines and environmental stresses may contribute to both allergic and autoimmune diseases. The presence of autoantibodies in some allergic conditions suggests an autoimmune basis for these conditions. Because of the central role T cells play in immune reactivity, the T-cell receptor (TCR) loci have long been considered important candidates for common disease susceptibility within the immune system such as asthma, atopy, and autoimmunity. Immunomodulation is the key to a successful treatment of allergic and autoimmune conditions.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources