Tolerance and Autoimmunity

The immunologic specificity of the antigen receptors of T cells and B cells is the result of random shuffling of the many genes that form the DNA code for the antigen-binding site of these receptors.13 Theoretically, this process could generate 109 different T-cell receptors, including some that can bind to autoantigens (these cells are often called self-reactive T cells). Tolerance is the process that eliminates or neutralizes such autoreactive cells, and a breakdown in the working of this system can cause autoimmunity.B-Cell ToleranceAutoantibodies are characteristic of many autoimmune diseases and may be the direct cause of the . . .