The front line of research into immunoglobin G4-related disease - Do autoantibodies cause immunoglobin G4-related disease?

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a novel clinical disease entity characterized by elevated serum IgG4 concentration and tumefaction or tissue infiltration by IgG4-positive plasma cells. Although IgG4-RD is attracting strong attention as a new clinical entity, the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD and the roles of IgG4 are still unknown. Recently, self-antigens including Laminin 511 E8, Galectin-3 and Annexin A11, have been reported from one to the next...