Editing Autoimmunity (section)

{{short description|Immune response against an organism's own healthy cells}}
{{for|journal|Autoimmunity (journal){{!}}''Autoimmunity'' (journal)}}
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 |name          = Autoimmunity
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 |alt           = Different locations of the body that are affected by autoimmune diseases
 |caption       = Parts of body affected by autoimmune diseases
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 |specialty     = [[Immunology]]
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In [[immunology]], '''autoimmunity''' is the system of [[immune response]]s of an organism against its own healthy [[Cell biology|cell]]s, [[Tissue (biology)|tissue]]s and other normal body constituents.<ref>{{Cite web| vauthors = ((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) |date=20 November 2018 |title=Autoimmunity|url=https://www.britannica.com/science/autoimmunity|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105200719/https://www.britannica.com/science/autoimmunity|archive-date=5 January 2021|access-date=5 January 2020|website=Health & Medicine|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia | veditors = Delves PJ |title=Autoimmunity|date=1998-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0122267656000773|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Immunology | edition = Second |pages=292–296 |place=Oxford|publisher=Elsevier|doi=10.1006/rwei.1999.0075 |language=en|isbn=978-0-12-226765-9|access-date=2021-01-06 |last1=Delves |first1=Peter J. |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Any disease resulting from this type of immune response is termed an "[[autoimmune disease]]". Prominent examples include [[celiac disease]], [[diabetes mellitus type 1]], [[Henoch–Schönlein purpura]], [[systemic lupus erythematosus]], [[Sjögren syndrome]], [[eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis]], [[Hashimoto's thyroiditis]], [[Graves' disease]], [[idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura]], [[Addison's disease]], [[rheumatoid arthritis]], [[ankylosing spondylitis]], [[polymyositis]], [[dermatomyositis]], and [[multiple sclerosis]]. Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with [[steroids]].<ref name="pmid24910822">{{cite journal | vauthors = Patt H, Bandgar T, Lila A, Shah N | title = Management issues with exogenous steroid therapy | journal = Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism | volume = 17 | issue = Suppl 3 | pages = S612–S617 | date = December 2013 | pmid = 24910822 | pmc = 4046616 | doi = 10.4103/2230-8210.123548 | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Autoimmunity means presence of [[Autoantibody|antibodies]] or [[T cell]]s that react with [[self-protein]] and is present in all individuals, even in normal health state. It causes autoimmune diseases if self-reactivity can lead to tissue damage.<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Diamond B, Lipsky PE | chapter = Autoimmunity and Autoimmune Diseases|date=2014| chapter-url = http://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1120812961| title = Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine | veditors = Kasper D, Fauci A, Hauser S, Longo D |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210105204556/https://accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=1130&sectionid=79749895 |edition=19th |place=New York, NY|publisher=McGraw-Hill Education|access-date=2021-01-05|archive-date=5 January 2021}}</ref>