Network regulation of autoimmunity: an automation model.

Four classes of regulatory T lymphocytes have been implicated in the control of experimental autoimmune diseases: a pair of helper and suppressor T lymphocytes that recognize the self-antigen (antigen-specific); and a pair of helper and suppressor T lymphocytes that recognize the autoimmune effector lymphocytes (anti-idiotypic). The anti-idiotypic pair of regulators was detected following vaccination against autoimmune disease using autoimmune effector T clones as vaccines. To learn how the anti-idiotypic regulatory lymphocytes might function in concert with the antigen-specific regulatory lymphocytes, we devised a network in which the cell populations could be viewed as interconnected automata. Analysis of this novel network model suggests how self-tolerance may operate, how progressive autoimmune disease may develop, and how T-cell vaccination can control autoimmune disease.