28 Sep 2020
Setting it Straight - Self and non-self: autoimmunity and immunological tolerance
Setting it Straight - Issue #26
Written by Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty
Self and non-self, self and other? That may sound more like a theme for a deep philosophical discussion between psychologists rather than a topic that is of direct relevance to COVID-19 and infectious disease. But telling the difference between the ‘self’ proteins, cells, tissues and organs of our own bodies versus those of some ‘non-self’ invading pathogen, then reacting accordingly is exactly what immunity is about. When self/non-self discrimination goes wrong and our very own immune system starts to see something of us as ‘foreign’, the consequence can be autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes (in children), rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and Grave’s Disease.