How Anti-IgG antibodies (Rheumatoid Factor) are formed ?

[Shan Ali]

Rheumatoid factors are Anti IgG antibodies created against Fc portion of body's own IgG immunoglobulins in Rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases. What I fail to understand is that how come antibodies are produced against body's own IgGs at first place ? I mean how can our body break self-tolerance for something like IgG which it encounters all the time (how can it consider its own IgG as "foreign").
Secondly, when AntiIgG antibodies are created shouldn't they destroy all the IgGs in body leading to an immunocompromised state..?
All this Rheumatoid factor thing confuses me a lot.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Pepe18]

.

 

[Shan Ali]

It's an autoimmune disorder, so yes you have to break some of the body's immune tolerances.

There was a paper in JAMA at the start of this year that shows a strong correlation with a specific oral bacteria and the development of RA. There was a statistically significant increased likelihood that someone with RA was exposed to the antigen of the bacteria vs someone without RA. So it is suggestive of there being some kind of molecular mimicry. But not really well understood and no definitive causal link.

The link between smoking and the development of anti-citrullinated protein antibodies leading to RA is more well understood.

The precipitation of autoimmune diseases is often not well understood

Thank you for your response. One more thing. If Anti IgG Antibodies are formed will this lead to immunocompromised state ?