Equine autoimmunity

Autoimmunity is perceived as a misdirection of immune effector mechanisms t oward self. All available evidence indicates that pathologic immune process es of autoimmune disease use the same immune cells and mediators active in protective immune reactions. Thus, the concept of self-tolerance (the abili ty to recognize and ignore one's own tissues) and its presumed failure assu me a central, role in autoimmunity. Failure of self-tolerance unleashes imm une effector mechanisms on body tissues with the potential to produce disea se. Autoimmune disease can affect almost any organ system and result in wid ely varying pathologic conditions.