1.

¿Qué es el horror autotxicus, quien lo propone, y cuál es el significado para la

inmunología?

Un término introducido por Ehrlich, lo que significa que la inmunidad se dirige contra materiales
extraños, pero no contra los constituyentes de su propio cuerpo; excepciones a este concepto son
las reacciones y enfermedades autoallergic.

Horror autotoxicus: Literally, the horror of self-toxicity. A term coined by the

great German bacteriologist and immunologist Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) to
describe the body's innate aversion to immunological self-destruction.
However, as we now know, the immune system can upon occasion attack
itself and does so in the autoimmune disorders.
a term introduced by Ehrlich, meaning that immunity is directed againstforeign materials b
ut not against the constituents of one's own body;exceptions to this concept are the autoaller
gic reactions and diseases.
Synonym(s): self-tolerance
[L., dread of self-poisoning]
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

horror autotoxicus
an old term that predicted the occurrence of diseases in which the rulesguaranteeing self tol
erance are broken.
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary, 3 ed. © 2007 Elsevier, Inc. All rights
reserved

Horror autotoxicus: The story of autoimmunity

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Britt Sager
Autoimmunity has become a well-known concept in our modern world, although it
was not widely accepted in mainstream medicine until the 1950s and 1960s. Many
of us have a general idea what the term means or can list a number of autoimmune
conditions.
 Paul Erlich, German Immunologist

Diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), systemic lupus erythmatosis (SLE), type 1
diabetes, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Sjogren’s syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis (RA),
Crohn’s disease and celiac disease are now widely recognized. Over 23.5 million
Americans have an autoimmune disease, and autoimmune diseases have been
identified in virtually every organ system.

What is autoimmunity? It literally means “immunity against self” or an immune

system mistakenly attacking healthy tissue. The German immunologist and Nobel
Laureate, Paul Ehrlich (1845-1915), coined the term horror autotoxicus “the horror
of self-toxicity” to describe the body’s aversion to immunological self-
destruction. Our bodies are equipped with powerful defenses against invading
microorganisms like viruses and bacteria. We have protective mechanisms
directing the immune system to distinguish between “self” and “non-self,”
preventing the immune system from attacking and destroying healthy tissue.
 Factors that can contribute to autoimmune disease

During an autoimmune reaction, this recognition of “self” is impaired, resulting in

an increased immune response. While we all have a small degree of autoimmunity
occurring within our bodies, autoimmune diseases develop when benign
autoimmunity progresses to pathogenic autoimmunity.

The puzzling question of why our immune systems would initiate an attack on our
own tissues is an area of ongoing research. Autoimmunity has been attributed to a
number of suspected causes including genetic susceptibility, environmental
triggers, and immune dysregulation. While these causes can overlap and interact,
there is at this time no single causative factor.

Autoimmune disease symptoms wax and wane, and signs can vary greatly from
patient, making diagnosis difficult. Flare ups, or periods of worsening
symptoms, are often interspersed with periods of remission or few to no
symptoms. Initial autoimmunity symptoms include: fatigue, unexplained rashes,
abdominal pain, low grade fever, and malaise, among others. A classic indicator of
autoimmunity is inflammation, which may lead to redness, heat, pain or swelling of
the affected tissue.

Autoimmunity can be identified by the presence of autoantibodies that are part of

the immune reaction to “self.”

1. Sager B. Horror autotoxicus: The story of autoimmunity [Internet]. The NEI Connection. 2013
[cited 10 August 2018]. Available from:
https://neuroendoimmune.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/horror-autotoxicus-the-story-of-autoimmunity/
 1. En 1897, Paul Ehrlich genera la fundamentación teórica de
la teoría de las cadenas laterales. Sus cuadros, donde
pintan las células con sus receptores, son famosos, y sin
plantearlo en estas figuras por primera vez se observa la
interacción de un anticuerpo con su receptor en una célula.
Esto fue la base para explicar el "horror autotóxico", es
decir se inicia el conocimiento primitivo del concepto de
autoinmunidad. Fue lo que le permitió a Clemens Freiherr
von Pirquet en 1906, al analizar la enfermedad del suero,
plantear la siguiente frase: "la concepción del anticuerpo la
cual se protege contra la enfermedad, son también
responsable para generar enfermedad, lo que parece un
absurdo"14,35,51,53.

Paul Ehrlich, quien había trabajado con Koch en tuberculosis y cólera, fue el
fundador de la quimioterapia moderna al proponer el exitoso salvarsán
contra la sífilis a partir de colorantes. Pero, en el contexto de la
inmunología, Ehrlich trascendió por su descripción de la primera teoría de la
formación de los anticuerpos y del horror autotoxicus, con los que abrió el
campo al concepto de especificidad de los anticuerpos, los cuales dibujó,
ingenua o brillantemente -depende de cómo se interpreten-, como
moléculas individuales con múltiples especificidades14,22,26,27,34,35,51-53.
Iglesias-Gamarra Antonio, Siachoque Heber, Pons-Estel Bernardo, Restrepo José Félix, Quintana L Gerardo,
Gómez Gutiérrez Alberto. Historia de la autoinmunidad. Primera Parte La inmunología ¿desde dónde y hacia
dónde?. Rev.Colomb.Reumatol. [Internet]. 2009 Jan [cited 2018 Aug 10] ; 16( 1 ): 11-31. Available from:
http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0121-81232009000100002&lng=en.