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Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and the University of Washington (UW) have discovered that patients with lupus have unusual mutations that may turn their bodies into battlegrounds.

These mutations are widespread in immune cells called neutrophils. Other immune cells see the mutated neutrophils as a threat—and they try to fight back. This internal battle may contribute to the development of painful inflammation, debilitating joint pain and other serious lupus symptoms throughout the body.

"This may get to the very crux of the disease pathogenesis," says LJI professor Stephen Schoenberger, Ph.D., who co-led the new Nature study with UW School of Medicine professor Tomas Mustelin, M.D., Ph.D.

The researchers cannot say for sure whether the mutated neutrophils are a root cause of lupus, but they point to the fact that this kind of "self-attack" is the hallmark of autoimmune disease.

In war, heat-seeking missiles are effective because they can lock onto their targets. Your immune system's T cells and B cells fight disease in a similar way. Immune cells have sensors too, and they patrol the body for molecules that belong to viruses, bacteria and other pathogens.

Your T cells are especially important fighters, and they hunt down molecules called peptides, which are presented at the surface of target cells. Peptides are fundamental building blocks in biology. Human cells make peptides—and so do bacteria and viruses.

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