What Is Autoimmunity?

When the human body produces an immune response against its own organs or tissues, such a situation is known as autoimmunity. In other words, autoimmunity is a condition in which the body offers a stiff resistance or fights its own proteins or tissues.

Autoimmunity is characterised by a specific antibody (such as the antiphospholipid antibody or antibodies to the DNA) or a specific group of cells (such as natural killer cells). These specific antibodies or cells react with the molecules or constituents that make up the body's own tissue. The reaction of these antibodies or cells to the molecules or constituents of the tissues cause diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, type1 diabetes or multiple sclerosis, which are known as autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmunity literally means the immunity against oneself. In other words autoimmunity is a condition in which the person's immune system plays havoc by mediating in the destruction of the body's cells and tissues.

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