title: Autoimmunity can benefit self-maintenance.
abstract: Autoimmunity is usually considered only as a cause of disease; nevertheless, human T-cell repertoires are filled naturally with autoimmune lymphocytes. Here, we review evidence that autoimmune T cells can help heal damaged tissues, indicating that natural autoimmunity could also be a cause of health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: I R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001324:Autoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D015551:Autoimmunity; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte; D003288:Contusions / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D004681:Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D018448:Models, Immunological; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000276:immunology; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000276:immunology; D018919:Neovascularization, Physiologic / Q000276:immunology; D009409:Nerve Crush; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000276:immunology*; D020221:Optic Nerve Injuries / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D012038:Regeneration / Q000276:immunology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000637:transplantation; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D001324:Autoantigens; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein