imunopatolog

Imunopatologie, or immunopathology, is the study of diseases caused by immune system dysfunction and the resulting tissue injury. It lies at the interface of pathology and immunology and seeks to understand how immune responses—autoimmunity, alloimmunity, and hypersensitivity—lead to organ damage and clinical illness.

Key mechanisms include autoantibody production, autoreactive T cells, immune complex deposition, complement activation, cytokine-driven inflammation, and dysregulated innate immunity seen in autoinflammatory conditions.

Diagnostic approaches combine tissue-based studies and laboratory tests. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry identify patterns of inflammation and injury, while serology detects autoantibodies (such as ANA, anti-dsDNA, RF, ANCA) and complements. Imaging, clinical data, and functional assays help correlate findings and establish a diagnosis.

Imunopatologie encompasses a range of conditions, including autoimmune diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroiditis), organ-specific autoimmune diseases, hypersensitivity reactions (types I–IV), immune complex–mediated vasculitis and glomerulonephritis, transplant rejection, and immunodeficiencies with infection or autoinflammatory syndromes. The field informs prognosis and treatment decisions and underpins research into targeted therapies and immune tolerization strategies.