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A Toll-like trigger for autoimmune disease

Nature Medicine volume 11, pages 120–121 (2005)Cite this article

Autoimmune disease is set in motion by certain triggers, one of which now comes to light in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes. Signaling through Toll-like receptors, known for receiving signals from viruses and bacteria, initiates the disease (pages 138–145).

Every healthy person produces naturally occurring autoantibodies and T cells that react against self-antigens. This is illustrated by the fact that T cell lines specific to self-proteins can be derived from normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells1,2. These data show that the immune system exists in a state of 'ignorance'—that contact between autoreactive lymphocytes and their target autoantigen is not sufficient to induce an autoimmune disease.

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Figure 1: The multiple potential effects of IFN-α on beta cell–specific autoimmune responses.

Kimberly Caesar

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  1. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, 75015, France

    Jean-François Bach

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  1. Jean-François Bach
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Bach, JF. A Toll-like trigger for autoimmune disease. Nat Med 11, 120–121 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0205-120

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