INVESTIGATING THE IMMUNOLOGICAL PROCESSES UNDERLYING AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS: RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS AND SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS

Background: Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are caused by the loss of immune regulation as the body becomes aggressive against its own body. The conditions are characterized by the complicated immunological events, the loss of self-tolerance, the activation of autoreactive T and B-lymphocytes, and autoantibody formation, which results in chronic inflammation and tissue injury. Objective: To explore the immunological processes involved in RA and SLE; to concentrate on the issues of immune dysregulation and cytokine production, as well as on the development of autoantibodies in the patients. Study design:  Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of study: Al Nafees Hospital, Islamabad. June 2023 to June 2024. Methods: A cross-sectional study of RA and SLE patients. Autoantibodies analysis, cytokines analysis, and immune cell analysis were performed by analyzing blood samples. To determine immunological markers of disease activity, statistical analysis such as correlation of immune markers with severity of the disease was carried out. Immune responses were measured by flow cytometry and ELISA. Results: The mean age of patients in the RA group was 52.8 years (SD = ± 9.9) and 46.9   years (SD ± 8.76) in the SLE patients’ group. The two groups were significantly different in cytokine levels (TNF-a, IL-6) and autoantibody profiles (p-value < 0.05) indicating different immune processes underlying these diseases. Both RA and SLE patients showed a positive correlation of increased autoantibody levels to severity of disease. Conclusion: The results indicate that immunological mechanisms in RA and SLE are different, and cytokines and autoantibodies profiles are relevant in the pathogenesis. These findings may be used in the creation of specific cure to be used in controlling autoimmune diseases in order to enhance patient outcomes.