Medical Health Encyclopedia

Many people who have viral syndromes or have reached the age of 50 test positive for the anti-nuclear autoantibody (ANA). Thus, this common screening test for lupus is actually an autoantibody which is found in many healthy people, and a positive ANA would never give someone a diagnosis of lupus in the absence of lupus symptoms or other disease features.

The Inflammatory Process and Autoimmunity

The Normal Immune System Response. The inflammatory process is a byproduct of the activity of the body's immune system, which fights infection and heals wounds and injuries:

• When an injury or an infection occurs, white blood cells are mobilized to rid the body of any foreign proteins, such as a virus.
• The masses of blood cells that gather at the injured or infected site produce factors to fight any infections.
• In the process, the surrounding area becomes inflamed and some healthy tissue is injured. The immune system is then called upon to repair wounds by clotting any bleeding blood vessels and initiating fiber-like patches to the tissue.
• Under normal conditions, the immune system has special factors that control and limit this inflammatory process.

The Infection Fighters. B cells and T cells are two important components of the immune system that play a role in the inflammation associated with lupus. Both B cells and T cells belong to a family of immune cells called lymphocytes. Lymphocytes help fight infection.

Text Continues Below

---

B cells and T cells are involved in the immune system's response to infection. Antigens are foreign bodies (such as bacteria and viruses) that stimulate the immune system to produce autoantibodies.  When a T cell recognizes an antigen it will produce chemicals (cytokines) that cause B cells to multiply and release many immune proteins (antibodies). These antibodies circulate widely in the bloodstream, recognizing the foreign particles and triggering inflammation in order to rid the body of the invasion.

An antigen is a substance that can provoke an immune response. Typically antigens are substances not usually found in the body.