autoimmune
adjective
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Any healthy body produces a variety of antibodies, proteins in the blood whose job is to protect the body from unwanted bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. The cells and organs that deal with such infections make up the immune system. In some people and animals, for various reasons, the antibodies become overactive and turn on the body's healthy tissues as well; the result is an autoimmune disease—an immune response directed against one's own self. More than eighty autoimmune diseases have been identified, the best-known being type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Examples of autoimmune in a Sentence
Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
This guy has an autoimmune disease.
—ABC News, 26 Oct. 2025
Novartis has been proactively striking deals this year to address the impending patent cliff for some of its blockbuster drugs, including Entresto for heart failure, Xolair for asthma and Cosentyx for autoimmune diseases.
—Reuters, USA Today, 26 Oct. 2025
It’s linked to higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, digestive disorders, autoimmune disease, dementia, depression, Parkinson’s, cancer—and, of course, insomnia.
—Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autoimmune
Cite this Entry
“Autoimmune.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autoimmune. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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autoimmune
adjective
Medical Definition
autoimmune
adjective
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