Immune or autoimmune?

In this article the author argues for the view that operationally distinguishes clonal immune responses to foreign antigens, versus the network-based immune operation of autoreactivities. This model suggests the co-existence of two fundamentally distinct types of organisation in the mammalian immune system, embodying different ensembles of lymphocytes and repertoires. It is one's conviction that, if autoimmune pathology represents a deviation of physiological autoreactivity, and the latter is reflected in the repertoires of natural serum antibodies, it should be possible in principle to detect such alterations before the pathological process has led to irreversible damage of the target tissues or functions.