Clinical and experimental observations since 1906 have definitively borne out Paul Ehrlich's
prediction of the role of autoimmunity in human disease (Table I). In many instances the
cellular targets of circulating autoantibodies remain undefined (eg, in rheumatoid arthritis).
However, in a number of autoimmune di. sorders, the cellular antigens have been identified
as specific cell-membrane hormone and neurotransmitter receptors. This exception to the
principle of selftolerance has been demonstrated to have many implications not only in the …