Scientists study autoimmune triggering

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Scientists study autoimmune triggering

By UPI

Nov 22, 2006, 19:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, United States (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have

discovered autoimmunity can be triggered if T cells fail to recognize

just one of the body`s thousands of proteins as 'self.'

University of California-San Francisco researchers say the finding

confirms an emerging view that autoimmunity can start in the thymus,

where the immune system`s T cells develop, and not only at the sites

where autoimmune diseases emerge -- such as the pancreas in the case

of type 1 diabetes or the joints in rheumatoid arthritis.

Dr. Mark , assistant professor of medicine and senior author

of the paper, said the discovery, from a mouse model of a human

autoimmune condition, suggests effective strategies to treat

autoimmune disease should target not only the 'peripheral' sites

where autoimmune disease is active but also the thymus.

The research appears online in the Journal of Experimental Medicine

and will appear in the journal`s Nov. 27 print edition.

Copyright 2006 by United Press International