The genetic origin of autoantibodies.

Autoimmune disease appears to be a consequence of the generation of self-reactive antibodies. The relationship between these autoantibodies and antibodies directed against exogenous antigens has fostered much recent work, especially on the murine models of systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, as Reinhard Kofler and his colleagues review here. While the complexities surrounding the origin of self-specific antibodies are still to be completely unravelled, it appears that lupus autoantibody expression may not result from defects in lg germline genes nor in mechanisms generating antibody repertoires (variable region gene selection, rearrangement, somatic mutation) but follows the same general principles governing responses to foreign antigens.