Proteus Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Pure red cell aplasia is said to be an autoimmune reaction. How can an autoimmune reaction cause the bone marrow to cease producing red blood cells? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillSwift Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Pure red cell aplasia is said to be an autoimmune reaction. How can an autoimmune reaction cause the bone marrow to cease producing red blood cells? By destroying the marrow. Here's a paper on the disease: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120728124/abstract (Free download of the PDF). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proteus Posted October 5, 2009 Author Share Posted October 5, 2009 Why doesn't it cause damage elsewhere in the body? Or does it just cause more damage to the bone marrow because there is a higher concentration of white blood cells (since they are produced there)? Er, thanks for the paper, but it's not like I'm going to write a thesis on it or something. I was just looking for some basic facts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JillSwift Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 (edited) Why doesn't it cause damage elsewhere in the body? Or does it just cause more damage to the bone marrow because there is a higher concentration of white blood cells (since they are produced there)?Antibodies (immunoglobulins) are able to be very specific in the antigens they go after. It's a feature that allows for antibodies to be made that can isolate and destroy bacteria and other invading fauna without damaging the host, just in this case having gone terribly wrong, going after antigens unique to red marrow. Er, thanks for the paper, but it's not like I'm going to write a thesis on it or something. I was just looking for some basic facts. Sorry. I just found it informative. Edited October 5, 2009 by JillSwift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Skeptic Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 The same sort of thing as immune mediated type 1 diabetes, where the immune system attacks the islet cells on the pancreas that are responsible for insulin production, resulting in diabetes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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