Autoimmune Disease
A condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the body's own tissues. Examples include multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes. Peptide drugs for autoimmune diseases include cyclosporine, glatiramer acetate, and zilucoplan.
Technical Context
Autoimmunity results from: genetic susceptibility (HLA associations — HLA-B27 in ankylosing spondylitis, HLA-DR4 in rheumatoid arthritis), environmental triggers (molecular mimicry — pathogen antigens resembling self-antigens; epitope spreading — immune response expanding from initial target to related self-antigens; bystander activation — inflammation exposing normally hidden self-antigens), and regulatory failure (defective Treg function, complement deficiency, impaired apoptotic cell clearance). Autoimmune diseases treated with peptide drugs: MS (glatiramer acetate — immunomodulation), MG (zilucoplan — complement inhibition), organ transplant rejection (cyclosporine — T cell suppression), psoriasis/RA (cyclosporine — T cell suppression for severe cases), and various inflammatory conditions (corticotropin — cortisol-mediated immunosuppression + melanocortin receptor-mediated immunomodulation). The pipeline for peptide-based autoimmune therapies includes: tolerogenic peptide vaccines (inducing antigen-specific tolerance) and targeted complement inhibitors.