Scenes from a marriage: on complex relationship between autoimmunity and its environmental triggers

Abstract

This thesis investigates the pathophysiology of autoimmunity and the role of environmental factors with a specific focus on rheumatoid arthritis. Chapter 1 discusses the history of autoimmunity research and presents the state-of-the-art overview of the literature on the role of autoantibodies and B cells in rheumatoid arthritis. The chapters 2, 3 and 4 investigate the links between bacteria and induction of autoimmunity in rheumatoid arthritis and studies mechanisms potentially underlying this process Chapter 5 investigates a potential mechanistic link between a bacterium Staphylococcus aureus and induction of autoantibodies in another disease, ANCA-associated vasculitis. Chapter 6 analyzes the properties of various autoantibodies, presenting an overview of the available data on isotype and subclass profiles. Chapter 7 focuses on a specific property of some autoantibodies, Fab-glycosylation, and its impact on the antibody metabolism and transport. Chapter 8 includes a discussion of the presented data.