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Environmentally induced autoimmune diseases: potential mechanisms
1Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-0940, USA.
Environmental Health Perspectives
|September 30, 1999
Summary
Environmental agents can trigger autoimmunity through various mechanisms. These include disrupting immune tolerance, altering gene expression, and modifying self-molecules, though direct human evidence remains limited.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Environmental Health
Background:
- Xenobiotics, including drugs and environmental toxins, are implicated in causing autoimmune diseases.
- Examples of xenobiotic-induced autoimmunity include drug-induced lupus and toxic oil syndrome.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review proposed mechanisms by which xenobiotics induce or accelerate autoimmunity.
- To categorize these mechanisms and discuss their potential impact on immune tolerance.
Main Methods:
- Review of in vitro evidence and animal models.
- Categorization of proposed xenobiotic-induced autoimmunity mechanisms into three main groups.
Main Results:
- Mechanism 1: Inhibition of immune tolerance processes (deletion), leading to autoreactive cells in the periphery.
- Mechanism 2: Modification of gene expression, disrupting immune regulation and promoting autoreactive cell activation.
- Mechanism 3: Alteration of self-molecules, causing them to be recognized as foreign by the immune system.
Conclusions:
- While several plausible mechanisms exist for xenobiotic-induced autoimmunity, direct evidence in human diseases is largely lacking.
- Common mechanisms may underlie different xenobiotic exposures, and diverse mechanisms can lead to similar autoimmune conditions.
- The potential for numerous unidentified mechanisms contributing to human autoimmune diseases remains.