Given below are two statements: Statement I: Autoimmune disorder is a condition where body defense mechanism…

Given below are two statements:

Statement I: Autoimmune disorder is a condition where body defense mechanism recognises its own cells as foreign bodies.

Statement II: Rheumatoid arthritis is a condition where body does not attack self cells.

In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

  1. Both statement I and statement II are incorrect
  2. Statement I is correct but statement II is incorrect
  3. Statement I is incorrect but statement II is correct
  4. Both statement I and statement II are correct

Solution

Autoimmunity, which is an abnormal immune response against self-antigens. The body cells (self) act as antigens and are termed as an autoantigen. The immune system is unable to differentiate between self and non-self tissue in case of auto-immune disorders. The immune system produces antibodies against tissues of the own body or self.

For example, in rheumatoid arthritis, a type of immunoglobulin IgM is diagnosed and it is due to autoimmunity of the synovial membrane. These antibodies destroy the synovial membrane, which is the autoantigen in this case. This leads to swollen, painful, and deformed joints.

Asked in: NEET 2022 (Phase 1)

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