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Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus)
in Children and Adolescents
The
Immune System
Lupus is a disease of the immune system. It is not easy to understand what happens in
lupus without knowing a bit
about the normal functions of the immune system.
We
all have a really smart immune system made up of millions of different cells
(called white blood cells) or populations of cells that work together like an
army. This army protects us from
foreign invaders (bugs or germs) that cause infections.
Each cell population of our immune system has a specific job designed to
fight off the invaders, known as foreign antigens. Some cells, called monocytes, recognize these
antigens as foreign and
send signals to other cells, called T cells or T lymphocytes, to help fight the
invaders. These helping cells are called Helper T cells. T cells send signals to the
B cells (also known as B lymphocytes). B cells make weapons against the invaders, called
antibodies, that overpower the invaders by attaching themselves to them.
What results are antigen/antibody
complexes that are eaten up by cells that literally have the job of cleaning up
the mess. When enough antibodies
are made to overpower all of the antigens, signals are sent to another group of
T cells, called Suppressor T cells, that tell the B cells to stop making
antibodies. In the healthy immune
system, things return to normal until the next time the person gets
sick.
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