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Sera from 300 Italian patients with Addison's disease were collected over a 30 year period. Among these patients, 82% had autoimmune disease, 13% had tuberculosis and 5% had another causal condition. In 59% of the cases, autoimmune disease was associated with the autoimmune manifestations contributing to the description of polyglandular autoimmune disease (PGAD). In PGAD type 1, the disease was associated with chronic candidiasis and/or chronic hypoparathyroidism. In PGAD type 2, the patients had autoimmune thyroid disease and/or diabetes mellitus type 1, and in PGAD type 4, they presented a combination with other autoimmune diseases excluding those previously mentioned. Finally, the autoimmune disease was apparently isolated in 41% of the cases. In addition, patients with these four forms of disease exhibited a different genetic pattern, sex distribution, and age at presentation in addition to minor frequency of autoimmune diseases. Adrenal cortex autoantibodies directed against 21-hydroxylase were common serological markers for these four main clinical forms, showing a very high frequency at clinical onset of adrenal insufficiency. In some patients, steroid-producing cell autoantibodies were also present and correlated with gonadal failure and they recognize of 17alpha-hydroxylase or P450 side chain cleavage enzymes as target antigens.
Human autoimmune gastritis is an organ-specific autoimmune disease of the stomach. It is characterized by the development of disease-specific autoantibodies and a pathology that specifically targets specialized cells within the gastric environment. The autoantigens associated with this disease have been defined as the gastric H+/K+ ATPase and intrinsic factor. The development of experimental disease models has been pivotal in our contemporary understanding of autoimmunity. Here we review mouse models of autoimmune gastritis and their relevance to human autoimmune gastritis associated with pernicious anemia. We appraise some historical as well as recent studies of experimental autoimmune gastritis (EAG), highlighting key findings that have formed the basis of our current understanding of the etiology and mechanism(s) associated with autoimmune gastritis. A precise understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmune gastritis will permit the design of innovative and rational therapeutic strategies to prevent, arrest, ameliorate or reverse the disease.
BACKGROUND & AIMS: The relationship between celiac disease and many autoimmune disorders has been explained by the sharing of a common genetic factor. In a multicenter national study, we examined the relationship between the prevalence of autoimmune disorders in celiac disease and the duration of exposure to gluten. METHODS: Over a 6-month period, 909 patients with celiac disease (group A; mean age, 16.1 +/- 3.8 years; grouped according to age at diagnosis into three subgroups [group A1, <2 years; group A2, 2-10 years; and group A3, >10 years]), 1268 healthy controls (group B; mean age, 20.8 +/- 4.5 years), and 163 patients with Crohn's disease (group C; mean age, 28.8 +/- 10 years) were evaluated for the presence of autoimmune disorders. RESULTS: Prevalence of autoimmune disorders in group A was significantly higher than in group B (14% vs. 2.8%; P < 0.000001) but not higher than in group C (12.9%). Prevalence of autoimmune disorders in celiac disease increased with increasing age at diagnosis: 5.1% in group A1, 17% in group A2, and 23.6% in group A3 (P = 0.000001). In group A3, the prevalence of autoimmune disorders was significantly higher than in group C. In a logistic regression model, age at diagnosis was the only significant predictor variable of the odds of developing an autoimmune disorder (r = 0.3; P < 0.000001). CONCLUSIONS: Our data show for the first time that the prevalence of autoimmune disorders in celiac disease is related to the duration of exposure to gluten.
Autoimmune disorders constitute a diverse group of phenotypes with overlapping features and a tendency toward familial aggregation. It is likely that common underlying genes are involved in these disorders. Until very recently, no specific alleles--aside from a few common human leukocyte antigen class II genes--had been identified that clearly associate with multiple different autoimmune diseases. In this study, we describe a unique collection of 265 multiplex families assembled by the Multiple Autoimmune Disease Genetics Consortium (MADGC). At least two of nine "core" autoimmune diseases are present in each of these families. These core diseases include rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), type 1 diabetes (T1D), multiple sclerosis (MS), autoimmune thyroid disease (Hashimoto thyroiditis or Graves disease), juvenile RA, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis), psoriasis, and primary Sjogren syndrome. We report that a recently described functional single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs2476601, encoding R620W) in the intracellular tyrosine phosphatase (PTPN22) confers risk of four separate autoimmune phenotypes in these families: T1D, RA, SLE, and Hashimoto thyroiditis. MS did not show association with the PTPN22 risk allele. These findings suggest a common underlying etiologic pathway for some, but not all, autoimmune disorders, and they suggest that MS may have a pathogenesis that is distinct from RA, SLE, and T1D. DNA and clinical data for the MADGC families are available to the scientific community; these data will provide a valuable resource for the dissection of the complex genetic factors that underlie the various autoimmune phenotypes.
Postpartum thyroid dysfunction is rather a common problem during the postpartum period being found in approximately 5% of mothers in the general population. It occurs from subclinical autoimmune thyroiditis that is aggravated after parturition and causes various types of thyroid dysfunction. Immune activity is physiologically suppressed during pregnancy so that the fetus is not rejected, and rebounds above the normal level after parturition. Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis also spontaneously ameliorate during pregnancy, and are often aggravated after parturition. The high-risk mothers for postpartum thyroid dysfunction are well screened by antithyroid microsomal antibody (MCAb) and 60% to 70% of MCAb-positive mothers develop postpartum thyroid dysfunction, which is transient in most cases. New onset of Graves' disease may be screened by thyroid-stimulating antibody (TSAb) and 70% of TSAb-positive mothers develop either transient or persistent postpartum Graves' disease that usually occurs 3 to 6 months postpartum. Immune rebound after parturition may cause not only autoimmune thyroid diseases but other autoimmune diseases, which may be investigated with similar strategies to those in postpartum autoimmune thyroid disease. Thus, we found that postpartum onset of rheumatoid arthritis was found in 0.08% of women in the general population and could be partially predicted by measuring rheumatoid factors in early pregnancy. There are several case reports of other autoimmune diseases that develop after delivery; postpartum renal failure or postdelivery hemolytic-uremic syndrome, postpartum idiopathic polymyositis, postpartum syndrome with antiphospholipid antibodies, postpartum autoimmune myocarditis. Many other possible postpartum autoimmune diseases are still unexplored. Puerperal diseases should be carefully examined in relation to autoimmune abnormalities in the affected organs.
A review of 295 patients with autoimmune Addison's disease which occurred as part of a polyglandular autoimmune syndrome is presented. Information of 41 cases was obtained from our clinics and from the examination of medical records, while 254 cases were culled from the literature. We report that autoimmune Addison's disease in association with other autoimmune diseases occurs in at least two distinct types. Addison's disease occurring in Type I polyglandular autoimmune disease (PGA) is associated with chronic mucocutaneous candidiasis and/or acquired hypoparathyroidism. The age of onset is predominately in childhood or in the early adult years. Type I PGA syndrome is also frequently associated with chronic active hepatitis, malabsorption, juvenile onset pernicious anemia, alopecia and primary hypogonadism. Insulin requiring diabetes and/or autoimmune thyroid disease are infrequent. In contrast, Addison's disease in Type II PGA is associated with insulin requiring diabetes and/or autoimmune thyroid disease(s). Although the age of onset of Addison's disease in Type II PGA syndrome is not confined to any age group or any specific sex, it occurs predominately in the middle years of life in females. The associated autoimmune diseases found in Type I disease, such as chronic active hepatitis, etc. (see table II) are rare in Type II PGA disease except for a low frequency of gonadal failure. We provide evidence to support the concept that the Addison's diseases in Type I and II PGA syndromes have different genetic bases, as related to HLA haplotypes, and possibly have different underlying pathogeneses.
The 2 major recognized forms of atrophic gastritis are autoimmune and environmental atrophic gastritis. These differ in their topographical distribution in the stomach, histologic features, and etiology. Autoimmune atrophic gastritis results from immune-mediated destruction of specialized oxyntic glands, is restricted to the body and fundus, and shows characteristic neuroendocrine hyperplasia. Environmental atrophic gastritis is associated with long-standing Helicobacter pylori infection and preferentially involves antrum and transition zone mucosa. In this study, we describe a distinctive form of atrophic gastritis that differs markedly from both of these classic variants. This gastritis is characterized by: (1) intense mucosal inflammatory infiltrates, persisting even into the phase of severe glandular atrophy, (2) pangastric distribution with diffuse involvement of both body and antrum, (3) lack of association with H. pylori, and (4) lack of neuroendocrine hyperplasia. The 8 patients presented ranged from 1 to 75 years and showed a slight female predominance (5F:3M). All had systemic autoimmune and/or connective tissue diseases including autoimmune enterocolitis (4 cases), systemic lupus erythematosus, refractory sprue, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, and disabling fibromyalgia. Positive serum autoimmune markers were documented in 7 of 8 (87%) patients, but serologies for antiparietal cell and anti-intrinsic factor antibodies were undertaken in only 1 patient each and were negative. We propose that the distinctive histology of this form of atrophic pangastritis and its association with systemic autoimmune disease suggests an autoimmune process directed against multiple cell lineages in the stomach. The development of multifocal low-grade dysplasia in 1 patient, a 19-year-old woman, suggests that this condition might have neoplastic potential.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is an immunologically mediated autoimmune disease which has been reported to be aggravated by certain environmental agents such as ultraviolet irradiation (UV). To further investigate this interaction, we examined the consequences of UV exposure on the autoimmune process of several strains of autoimmune mice. Strains of age- and sex-matched, 3- to 4-month old, autoimmune (MRL-lpr/lpr, (NZB X NZW)F1, BXSB) and nonautoimmune (BALB/c, B10.A) mice were shaved and exposed to an acute (2 h daily X 7 days) and a chronic (3 h/weekly X 4 weeks) dose of UV (FS40 lamps, 2 mJ/cm2/s). UV-induced changes in survival, autoantibody production, splenic B-cell activity, and target organ pathology were examined. After an acute UV exposure there were (10/15) deaths in the UV BXSB males and (4/15) in the UV BXSB females, compared to (1/15) in the non-UV BXSB male group and (0/15) in the non-UV BXSB females. No deaths occurred in the other UV autoimmune or nonautoimmune groups. Likewise, chronic UV resulted in increased UV BXSB male mortality (13/15) compared to UV BXSB females (2/15) and non-UV BXSB males and females. No deaths occurred in the other autoimmune (MRL-lpr/lpr, (NZB X NZW)F1) or nonautoimmune (BALB/c, B10.A) strains, after chronic UV exposure. Equivalent doses of Mylar-filtered FS40 UV (UVB deleted) resulted in no deaths in the UV BXSB male group. Acute and chronic UV also resulted in a significant increase in serum single-stranded DNA antibody production, splenic polyclonal B-cell activity, and renal glomerular inflammatory changes in the UV BXSB male mice. Thus, UV resulted in premature death and accelerated autoimmunity in UV BXSB males and may serve as a useful model for phototoxicity in autoimmunity.
Vitiligo is a common skin disease characterized by depigmented maculae resulting from a reduction of the number and function of melanocytes. Many studies suggest that vitiligo might be an autoimmune disease. Vitiligo has been frequently described in association with other autoimmune diseases. Among the diseases described in association with vitiligo are the so-called autoimmune polyglandular syndromes (APS). Vitiligo can be present in all types of APS but the most frequent association appears to be in APS-3. APS-3 was defined as the association between autoimmune thyroiditis and another autoimmune disease. Here we report one patient with thyroiditis, vitiligo and autoimmune gastritis (APS-3B+C), one patient with chronic autoimmune thyroiditis, vitiligo and alopecia (APS-3C), and one case of a young patient with type 1 diabetes mellitus and vitiligo (APS-4), according to the newest classification. We stress the importance of a thorough assessment for autoimmune diseases in selected patients with vitiligo.
MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/l) mice spontaneously develop autoimmune kidney disease which resembles human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Employing this strain of mouse, we examined the effect of several immunosuppressants and a newly synthetized anti-nephritic agent, 4-chloro-3',6'-dimethyl-2,2'-iminodibenzoic acid (TO-115) on both the development of immunological abnormalities and the clinical symptoms of autoimmune kidney disease. This study aimed to determine how much the magnitude of autoantibody suppression related to the degree of prevention of autoimmune nephritis. Immunological abnormalities were assessed by measuring the serum levels of anti-deoxyribonucleic acid and anti-trinitrophenyl antibodies, rheumatoid factor (RF), and immune complex (IC). The status of autoimmune kidney disease was monitored by means of the appearance of proteinuria and survival time and the measurement of serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and cholesterol. Immunosuppressants such as cyclophosphamide (CY), 6-mercaptopurine (6 MP) and sodium aurothiomalate (SAT) remarkably suppressed the development of immunological abnormalities in a dose dependent manner. Interestingly, however, only CY showed the suppressive effect on the development of autoimmune kidney disease with prolongation of survival time and the excretion of proteinuria. In contrast, 6-MP and SAT did not inhibit the development of autoimmune kidney disease. On the other hand, TO-115 did not suppress the development of immunological abnormalities, but it restrained the symptoms of autoimmune kidney disease. Taken together, the suppression of autoantibody production does not always lead to prevention of the development of autoimmune kidney disease.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
We describe the clinical and liver biopsy morphologic features for 4 patients with minocycline-induced autoimmune hepatitis (group 1). We compared the serum laboratory values and liver biopsy findings from group 1 with those from 10 patients with sporadic autoimmune hepatitis (group 2). All patients in group 1 had positive serum antinuclear antibody titers, but none had positive serum anti-smooth muscle antibody titers. The morphologic findings of group 1 biopsies were those of autoimmune hepatitis in all 4 patients. In addition, 1 of these biopsy specimens also had scattered single eosinophils, unlike autoimmune hepatitis. The mean histologic activity index scores for patients in groups 1 and 2, respectively, were 6.7 and 5.4. No patients in group 1 had marked bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis, compared with 4 of 10 patients in group 2. Minocycline-induced autoimmune hepatitis is usually identical to sporadic autoimmune hepatitis. The absence of eosinophils does not exclude the possibility of a minocycline cause. In the absence of clinical or morphologic differences, a recent ingestion of minocycline should be excluded before the diagnosis of sporadic autoimmune hepatitis is established. Whether the drug is unmasking latent autoimmune hepatitis is unclear.