Cutting edge: issues in autoimmunity. BMC Medicine.

Cutting edge: issues in autoimmunity

Guest Editors: Prof Yehuda Shoenfeld and Dr Nancy Agmon-Levin

Collection published: 4 April 2013

During the last three decades a significant increase in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases was noted. More diseases apparently thought to be either genetically or environmentally induced were found to have an autoimmune origin � for example narcolepsy, depression, duodenal ulcer, etc. However, not all the autoimmune diseases fulfill Noel Rose's criteria (Shoenfeld Y, Cervera R, Gershwin M.E. Diagnostic Criteria in Autoimmune Diseases. Humana Press, Springer Science + Business Media, LLC, USA. pp 1-593, 2008).

In some of the diseases, indirect criteria allude to their autoimmune etiology, i.e. the co-appearance with other autoimmune diseases, specific HLA common to autoimmunity, presence of autoantibodies, etc. The fact that narcolepsy could be induced by autoantibodies extracted from patients to mice, fulfilled N. Rose's criteria, and therefore helped to classify narcolepsy as a classical autoimmune disease. Analyzing the mechanisms by which autoimmune disease is induced, leads to a better therapies than just immunosuppression or corticosteroids. Hence the role of the new biologics, where each type is aimed in counteracting a key point in the autoinflammatory process.

Unfortunately, not all the etiologies of autoimmune diseases have been revealed. Moreover there are some autoimmune diseases such as systemic sclerosis in which the pathogenetic mechanisms have not been deciphered, and therefore these conditions are still devastating and require extensive research. The aim of this article collection is to review some of the forefront issues in autoimmunity and which may lead to better diagnosis and therapies in the future.

If you would like your work to be considered as part of this article collection, you can send a pre-submission query tobmcmedicineeditorial@biomedcentral.com.

	Research article    Slow CCL2-dependent translocation of biopersistent particles from muscle to brain Zakir Khan, Christophe Combadière, François-Jérôme Authier, Valérie Itier, François Lux, Christopher Exley, Meriem Mahrouf-Yorgov, Xavier Decrouy, Philippe Moretto, Olivier Tillement, Romain K Gherardi, Josette CadusseauBMC Medicine 2013, 11:99 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article    Anti-ribosomal P protein IgG autoantibodies in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: diagnostic performance and clinical profile Diana Carmona-Fernandes, Maria Santos, Helena Canhão, João FonsecaBMC Medicine 2013, 11:98 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article    Associations between selected immune-mediated diseases and tuberculosis: record-linkage studies Sreeram V Ramagopalan, Raph Goldacre, Andrew Skingsley, Chris Conlon, Michael J GoldacreBMC Medicine 2013, 11:97 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Review    Phosphodiesterase 4-targeted treatments for autoimmune diseases Neal Kumar, Ari M Goldminz, Noori Kim, Alice B GottliebBMC Medicine 2013, 11:96 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Review    Renal involvement in autoimmune connective tissue diseases Andreas Kronbichler, Gert MayerBMC Medicine 2013, 11:95 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Commentary    Age-related autoimmunity Zahava Vadasz, Tharwat Haj, Aharon Kessel, Elias ToubiBMC Medicine 2013, 11:94 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Review    Novel aspects of Sjögren’s syndrome in 2012 Angela Tincani, Laura Andreoli, Ilaria Cavazzana, Andrea Doria, Marta Favero, Maria-Giulia Fenini, Franco Franceschini, Andrea Lojacono, Giuseppe Nascimbeni, Amerigo Santoro, Francesco Semeraro, Paola Toniati, Yehuda ShoenfeldBMC Medicine 2013, 11:93 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article    Coagulopathy triggered autoimmunity: experimental antiphospholipid syndrome in factor V Leiden mice Aviva Katzav, Nikolaos C Grigoriadis, Tania Ebert, Olga Touloumi, Miri Blank, Chaim G Pick, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Joab ChapmanBMC Medicine 2013, 11:92 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF| Editor’s summary
	Commentary    Discoveries in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus: consequences for therapy Takahisa Gono, Yasushi Kawaguchi, Hisashi YamanakaBMC Medicine 2013, 11:91 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article    16/6-idiotype expressing antibodies induce brain inflammation and cognitive impairment in mice: the mosaic of central nervous system involvement in lupus Shaye Kivity, Aviva Katzav, Maria Arango, Moran Landau-Rabi, Yaron Zafrir, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Miri Blank, Juan-Manuel Anaya, Edna Mozes, Joab Chapman, Yehuda ShoenfeldBMC Medicine 2013, 11:90 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article    The thrombophilic network of autoantibodies in celiac disease Aaron Lerner, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Yinon Shapira, Boris Gilburd, Sandra Reuter, Idit Lavi, Yehuda ShoenfeldBMC Medicine 2013, 11:89 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Review    Biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases: an update Ziv Rosman, Yehuda Shoenfeld, Gisele Zandman-GoddardBMC Medicine 2013, 11:88 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Editorial    Novel pebbles in the mosaic of autoimmunity Carlo Perricone, Nancy Agmon-Levin, Yehuda ShoenfeldBMC Medicine 2013, 11:101 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Provisional PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Review    Requirements for innate immune pathways in environmentally induced autoimmunity Kenneth Pollard, Dwight H KonoBMC Medicine 2013, 11:100 (4 April 2013) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article     How do autoimmune diseases cluster in families? A systematic review and meta-analysis Jorge Cardenas-Roldan, Adriana Rojas-Villarraga, Juan-Manuel AnayaBMC Medicine 2013, 11:73 (18 March 2013) Abstract | Provisional PDF | PubMed| Editor’s summary
	Research article     Month of birth, vitamin D and risk of immune-mediated disease: a case control study Giulio Disanto, George Chaplin, Julia M Morahan, Gavin Giovannoni, Elina Hyppönen, George C Ebers, Sreeram V RamagopalanBMC Medicine 2012, 10:69 (6 July 2012) Abstract | Full text | PDF | PubMed | 1 comment| Editor’s summary