Allergies and autoimmunity

First cases of autoimmune diseases were described at the beginning of the 20th century, when Sergei Metalnikov discovered that injecting guinea pigs with sperm caused the production of antibodies, which immobilize the sperm. Nonetheless, the existence of autoimmune diseases was disputed up until the 1960s. To date, over 100 types of autoimmune diseases have been described. Their cause is unknown.

15% to 30% of the USA population suffer from allergic rhinitis, 8% suffer from asthma, and 10% suffer from food allergies. According to various estimates, 7% to 15% of the population suffer from autoimmune diseases, the number of patients increases by 4%-7% per year, and they are the leading cause of death among women under the age of 65 years.

Allergies and autoimmune reactions are caused by disorders in the regulation of the immune system. Until recently, it was believed that the mechanisms of these diseases are completely different. Moreover, since the Th2 cells are mainly responsible for the allergies, and the Th1 cells are responsible for immunity, and they regulate each other, it was believed that allergies and autoimmune diseases are incompatible. However, new data indicates that everything is much more complicated: there can be a Th1 response to allergic diseases, and Th2 response to autoimmune diseases. Also, other cells of the immune system (Th17, Tregs, B cells, mast cells) play a significant role in both types of diseases, which may well occur together, and even exacerbate each other, and there is a connection between these diseases.
Asthma also seems to be an autoimmune disease.
[1]

The industrialization process of the early 20th century, as well as the parenteral administration of antitoxins and vaccines, led to the emergence of new diseases and strange reactions, which the doctors could not explain. Few could suspect the influence of the immune system over these new disorders. One of the first ones to point out this possibility was the Viennese pediatrician, von Pirquet, who was more interested in the clinical problems of his patients, rather than in the laboratory experiments. He coined the new word “allergy” to mean the following: the first contact of immune system with an antigen changes its reactivity, and with repeated and subsequent contacts, this change (or allergy) can cause a spectrum of reactions, from protective (immune) to hypersensitive. At first, the scientific community did not understand this concept, as it undermined the idea of protective nature of the immune response. Nonetheless, the clinical data of the coming years led to the acceptance of this notion, but not the new word. The original meaning of the “allergy” neologism has become perverted, and limited to only describing the states of hypersensitivity. Perhaps, it is due to this distortion that the term “allergy” does not have a clear meaning among the medical professionals today. Moreover, this word has long gone beyond the boundaries of medicine, and is widely used as a synonym for apathy and rejection. The vulgarization of the term “allergy” significantly increased its imprecision.
Von Pirquet published his theory in 1904. A few years before that, French physiologists, Richet and Protier, studied the pathological effect of marine animal toxins on dogs. They gave repeat injections to dogs that survived the first injection, and some of them suddenly died. They called this new phenomenon "anaphylaxis." [1]

Autoimmune and allergic diseases were very rare before the beginning of mass vaccination. Does this mean that vaccination could be causing them? After all, allergies and autoimmune diseases are, roughly speaking, an excessive and inadequate reaction of immune system to external factors or own tissues. Seeing as the goal of vaccination is to activate the immune system, would not it be logical to assume that vaccination can cause excessive activation of immune system in some people?
At first glance, this question is difficult to answer unambiguously, since sufficiently long randomized clinical trials of vaccines are not conducted. The CDC, however, easily answers this question:

«Observing vaccinated children for many years to look for long-term health conditions would not be practical, and withholding an effective vaccine from children while long-term studies are being done wouldn’t be ethical. A more practical approach is to look at health conditions themselves and at the factors that cause them. Scientists are already working to identify risk factors that can lead to conditions like cancer, stroke, heart disease, and autoimmune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Thousands of studies have already been done looking at hundreds of potential risk factors. If immunizations were identified as a risk factor in any of these studies, we would know about it. So far, they have not.
We learn about a vaccine’s safety during clinical trials before it is licensed, and monitor it continually as millions of doses are administered after it is licensed. We also know there is not a plausible biologic reason to believe vaccines would cause any serious long-term effects. Based on more than 50 years of experience with vaccines, we can say that the likelihood that a vaccine will cause unanticipated long-term problems is extremely low.»

Mice were injected with egg protein (ovalbumin) together with aluminum hydroxide (2.5 mg) and pertussis toxin. 100% of the mice developed antibodies against egg protein, and when they were given egg protein orally, the immune reaction intensified significantly. These mice also had increased intestinal permeability.
The authors conclude that this method is a quick and effective way to cause food allergies.
Of course, the amount of aluminum these mice received was dozens of times higher than the amount of aluminum in the vaccine, recalculated for the weight of an infant. However, firstly, the mice received only one injection, while infants get 10-20 vaccines only in the first year of life. Secondly, 100% of mice developed food allergies, while children develop it in approximately 10% of the cases.
Aluminum hydroxide has also been used to cause allergies in dogs and sheep.

The food allergies era started with the millennial generation, the generation that received new vaccines in early childhood. Many of these vaccines contain aluminum, which is known to causes allergies.
A case of an infant with allergies to peanuts and milk is described. During the period from 8 to 12 months of age, the level of antibodies to peanuts, milk and IgE (antibodies that play a central role in allergic diseases) decreased. She then received the vaccines for the 12 months age, and the level of antibodies against peanuts, milk and IgE increased significantly. Then she avoided vaccines with aluminum, and by the age of 16 months the levels of antibodies decreased again.

Hypersensitivity to cow milk affects approximately 1%-2% of young children, and can be fatal. 39 cases of anaphylactic reactions to the pertussis vaccine (DTaP/DTP/Tdap) in patients under 18 months of age, in the years between 2007 and 2010, have been registered with VAERS. During this period, just one hospital in New York registered 8 children with anaphylactic reaction to these vaccines. They were all allergic to milk. The authors noted that tetanus bacteria for these vaccines were grown in a medium containing casein, and suggested that residual casein in the vaccines might have caused the anaphylactic reaction. They tested several batches of the vaccine (Adacel, Daptacel and Infanrix) and actually did find casein in all of the vaccines. [1]

The oral polio vaccine contains α-lactalbumin (another protein found in milk), and can lead to an anaphylactic reaction in children with milk allergy.

Mice were injected with egg protein, and started to develop temporary sensitization (a sign of allergy) to ovalbumin, which disappeared in two weeks. In contrast, upon co-administration of ovalbumin with 50 ng of pertussis toxin, the allergic reaction lasted for at least 8 months. Inactivated pertussis toxin is found in acellular pertussis vaccines.

The MMR vaccine was added to the Japanese immunization schedule in 1989, and was removed from it in 1993. During this time, not a single case of anaphylactic reaction has been recorded among almost a million of those vaccinated with the gelatin-containing vaccines. And from 1994 till 1997, after Japan went back to monovalent vaccines, anaphylactic reactions have been recorded in 1:84,000 cases after the measles vaccine, in 1:153,000 cases after the rubella vaccine, and in 1:54,000 cases after the mumps vaccine. However, another change happened in the immunization schedule in 1994. Until 1994, MMR was the first vaccine received by children at the age of 18 months, and only after that, they were given the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP) vaccine. Since 1994, the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine was given at 6 months old, and only after it, did the children get vaccinated against measles, rubella and mumps. All children who had an anaphylactic reaction to live vaccine have been previously vaccinated with DTaP (and 98% of them received DTaP, which contained gelatin).

After the previous study, all Japanese manufacturers removed gelatin from live and inactivated vaccines. The risk of anaphylactic reaction decreased significantly, and became 1-2 per million.
American vaccines contain gelatin. The number of allergens in vaccines is not regulated, and the manufacturers do not check for allergens.
The number of anaphylactic reactions to food in the state of Illinois has increased by almost 3-fold in 5 years.

Mice were divided into 3 groups, and they were given 7 injections of aluminum (5 mg in total) in various forms (powder, gel and hydrosolvent) with ovalbumin, to stimulate allergic rhinitis. The fourth group was a control group.
The first group showed classic symptoms of allergic rhinitis. Mice in the second group had an enlargement in the abdominal region, slow movements, dull fur, and all mice became thin and emaciated. Mice in the second and third groups had granulomas in liver, spleen and kidneys. There was no rhinitis in the third group. The authors believe that the aluminum overdose caused immunosuppression. The control group had neither rhinitis, nor granulomas.

25%-32% of children in developed countries suffer from allergic rhinitis. 11%-17% suffer from asthma.
Children, whose parents refused vaccination, are 10 times less likely to suffer from allergic rhinitis, and 2.5 times less likely to suffer from eczema, as compared to vaccinated children.
Children, whose parents refused vaccination and did not use antibiotics in infancy, suffer from asthma 11 times less often. [1]
In another study, vaccinated children suffered from allergic rhinitis 30 times more often than those unvaccinated.

Systematic review and meta-analysis. Vaccination is associated with a 50% increase in the risk of systemic lupus, and a 32% increase in the risk of rheumatoid arthritis. Upon exclusion of the studies funded by pharmaceutical companies, the risk got higher (73% and 40% respectively). When analyzing only short-term studies, the risk got even higher (93% and 48% respectively). Animal studies and multiple clinical cases described, also indicate that vaccination can cause lupus and rheumatoid diseases.
Hepatitis B vaccine is associated with a 2.5-fold increase in the risk of lupus.
The flu vaccine increases the risk of Sjogren's syndrome by 21% (48% in a short-term study).

In mice prone to lupus, hepatitis B vaccine accelerated kidney disease, manifested by proteinuria (protein in urine), histological damage and deposition of vaccine antigen in the kidneys. Mice that received aluminum hydroxide injections did not have kidney disease, but they did have hematological and neurological disorders.
This is consistent with a study among people with lupus nephritis, who had deposits of hepatitis B antigens in 50% of cases.
It was also found that hepatitis B vaccination and aluminum adjuvant infections correlated with anemia in mice, and with leukopenia (a decrease in white blood cells) to some extent. This is consistent with other human and animal studies, and aluminum is known to be toxic and to cause anemia. (Anemia and leukopenia on the list of lupus manifestations).
In addition, vaccinated mice showed memory impairment, as well as inflammation and microglial activation in various parts of the brain. Similar effects were observed in people suffering from neuropsychiatric systemic lupus.
5% of lupus patients had the disease exacerbate after the polio vaccine. There were no exacerbations in the control group.

Rubella vaccine is associated with a 12-times increase in the risk of psoriatic arthritis.

Squalene (an adjuvant found in some flu vaccines) causes chronic arthritis in rats and mice. Squalene can also stimulate the production of lupus-related autoantibodies. The same happens with mineral oils and other adjuvants, which are used in animal vaccines. [1]

Arthritis is the most common complication of the tick-borne borreliosis.
Hamsters were vaccinated against tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease) with a recombinant vaccine supplemented with aluminum. Upon exposure to the pathogen, they developed a significantly more severe arthritis than unvaccinated hamsters. Adding aluminum to the vaccine enhances an adverse reaction. Similar results were obtained in other studies as well.
This aluminum-containing vaccine has been licensed for humans by the FDA. The authors conclude that the vaccine needs to be modified, to eliminate potential side effects. [1] [2]

The Lymerix Lyme vaccine was licensed in 1998 after third phase of clinical trial, which included 11 thousand people. Similar clinical trial was conducted for a different Lyme vaccine (Imulyme), but for unknown reasons, the manufacturer did not apply for licensing.
Within a year of licensing, reports of adverse reactions started to appear, mainly musculoskeletal, such as arthritis. The FDA was forced to re-examine the results of clinical trials. Significantly more local and systemic adverse reactions were observed in the vaccine group, as compared to the control group (which received the same vaccine, but with no antigen). However, the numbers for the long-term joint diseases did not differ (1.3% for the vaccine group and 1.2% for the control group).
At the same time, studies were conducted, which found that in patients with a specific genotype, the immune reaction to antigen could cause a cross-reactive autoimmune response manifested by chronic arthritis.
In January of 2001, the FDA reconvened an advisory panel, which analyzed VAERS and post-marketing survey, and concluded that the benefits of vaccination outweighed the risks. In February 2002, the GSK voluntarily withdrew the vaccine “due to insufficient sales.”

The authors studied various models of asthma induction in mice. Two injections of aluminum hydroxide (2 mg) together with ovalbumin turned out to be the easiest method to cause asthma. Seven injections of ovalbumin without aluminum also caused asthma. The authors note that it is unknown how exactly aluminum enhances the immune response.
Ovalbumin is found in flu vaccines.

Pertussis toxin was added to the blood samples taken from vaccinated 6-months-old babies. This led to the activation of 33 allergy-related genes.
In another study, an aluminum adjuvant injection resulted in the expression of 47 genes associated with inflammation, oncogenesis, stress, toxicity, and cell cycle regulation in mice.

Aluminum adjuvants contribute to the oxidative stress, increase inflammatory activity and cause a Th2 immune response, and the release of cytokines, which can cause allergies in genetically vulnerable people. Identifying such people could decrease the risk of unwanted effects associated with the use of aluminum-containing vaccines. [1]

The authors repeatedly vaccinated mice not prone to autoimmune reactions with ovalbumin and other substances, and unexpectedly found systemic autoimmune disorder in them. They conclude that over-stimulation of the immune system beyond its own self-organized criticality, inevitably leads to systemic autoimmunity. This systemic autoimmune disorder is not a consequence of a cross-reaction to an antigen, but rather a natural consequence of a normal immune response, which, due to over-stimulation, goes beyond the limits of self-organized criticality of the system.

Each year, more than 200 million salmon and trout receive an intraperitoneal injection of a hexavalent vaccine. After the vaccination, the fish eat much less for at least 12 days. Vaccination also causes peritonitis (inflammation of the abdomen lining) and behavioral changes in fish, which seem to be the result of the pain caused by peritonitis. Vaccination also significantly increases the risk of skull and spine deformation in Atlantic salmon. One year after the vaccination, unvaccinated salmon were 16% larger than the vaccinated ones. Vaccination is also associated with muscle inflammation and uveitis (choroid inflammation).
This study found that vaccinated fish suffer from systemic autoimmune disorders. They had granulomas and other serious pathological changes in liver, spleen, kidneys, intestines, heart, gills, muscles and spine.
There is evidence that vaccination increases the risk of infectious salmon anemia, which salmon is not vaccinated against.
Another study found that 36%-85% of salmon have antinuclear antibodies (a marker of autoimmune processes), as compared to 5% for unvaccinated and 0% for wild salmon.

The authors analyze studies of the effects of various types of adjuvants, and conclude that animal testing proves that adjuvants can cause autoimmune diseases, even without co-administration of an antigen.

Transverse myelitis is a rare disease in which immune processes cause spinal chord neural injury. The authors analyzed medical literature and found 43 cases of transverse myelitis associated with various vaccines. In most cases the disease started between several days to 3 months within vaccination. In three cases, transverse myelitis started after the oral polio vaccine. Poliovirus can cause transverse myelitis, and the IOM concluded that there is a causal relationship between oral vaccine and transverse myelitis in 1993.
In a different study, 30% of children started showing symptoms of transverse myelitis within three months of vaccination. The authors conclude that the association of various vaccines with the same autoimmune disease can be explained by the common vaccine component, such an adjuvant, which can trigger this syndrome. An adjuvant from one vaccine can enhance the immune response to another vaccine. In mice, vaccinated with the combined pertussis and anthrax vaccine, the pertussis vaccine acted as an adjuvant for the anthrax vaccine. Administration of multiple vaccines or a combination vaccine may increase the chance of an autoimmune response.

Cervarix (HPV) vaccine is associated with an almost 4-times increase in the risk of autoimmune thyroiditis in women.

Thiomersal induces systemic autoimmune syndrome in genetically susceptible mice, very similar to that caused by inorganic mercury. Autoimmune syndrome, induced by thiomersal, differs from a weaker and more restricted autoimmune reaction observed after similar dose of methylmercury. [1]

Sheep vaccination campaign against bluetongue in 2008-2011 caused the appearance of the sheep autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA). Acute phase of the sheep ASIA affects less than 1% of the herd, passes quickly, and only a few die. However, the chronic phase, the symptoms of which occur months after vaccination, affects most sheep. They have extreme body exhaustion, neuronal necrosis and a number of other changes in the brain. This phase is triggered by external factors, such as low temperatures, poor nutrition and other stressful situations.
Aluminum seems to have a double role in the pathogenesis of the disease: 1) directly causing neurotoxicity; 2) triggering a strong, non-specific immune response, which ultimately affects the central nervous system through autoimmune reactions. Transportation of aluminum from the site of vaccination to the central nervous system was demonstrated on mice.

Medical literature describes about 4,500 cases of ASIA in humans from 2011 to 2016. The interval from vaccination to the onset of symptoms manifestation was from 2 days to 23 years.
People who have suffered from autoimmune or allergic diseases, or who are prone to autoimmunity (e.g. have autoimmune disease in the family, asymptomatic antibody carriers, some genetic profiles) are particularly at risk for the ASIA. [1]

We still rely mainly on immunosuppressants for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
An increasing aversion to vaccination is observed today, due to the many suspected or real adverse events associated with the currently used vaccines. It seems that science was unable to explain, overcome and resolve the fears associated with vaccination that arose more than two hundred years ago.
The term molecular mimicry was borrowed from natural sciences. Mimicry explained how an insect avoids being eaten, reminding the enemy of something they usually do not eat. Raymond Damian transferred this concept to molecular immunological context in 1960. He suggested that parasites avoid immune response due to the similarity of their antigens to host antigens. That is, the term molecular mimicry initially indicated the phenomenon of camouflage in order to avoid recognition.
In 1962, however, other researchers suggested that infections could cause autoimmune diseases due to the formation of cross-reactive antibodies. According to the new interpretation of the concept of molecular mimicry, the immune system recognizes and attacks pathogen structures, not paying attention to the fact that the host has similar structures, which causes autoimmune disease. However, after three decades of intensive research in this area, a causal relationship between molecular mimicry and autoimmune disease still has not been proven.
In recent years, it has been found that most viral and bacterial peptides are also found in human proteome (a set of body proteins). Only less than 10% of viral pentapeptides are unique to viruses, and only 0.3% of bacterial hexapeptides are unique to bacteria, and are not found in the human proteome.
(Pentapepdite/hexapeptide is a chain of five/six amino acids. 5-6 amino acids is the minimum length of an antigen). That is, only a tiny part of approximately 30,000 proteins, which form the human proteome do not contain bacterial hexapeptides.
This massive similarity between viral and bacterial peptides and human peptides, points to the fragility of the molecular mimicry hypothesis, and proves Damian’s suggestion, according to which, the parasite antigens do not trigger an immune response due to the similarity with the host peptides. If the molecular mimicry hypothesis were true, 100% of people would be suffering from autoimmune diseases. Almost all epitopes (part of the antigen that is recognized by the immune system) are located in areas with low antigen similarity. Immunological information is packaged in rare peptides. Therefore, vaccination, which induces an immune response to whole viral or bacterial antigens, can cause a wide range of immune responses.
The similarity of infectious peptides to human ones can also explain why vaccines based on infectious antigens can trigger a weak immune response, or not trigger one at all. This meager vaccine immunogenicity has necessitated the use of adjuvants.
However, the adjuvant-induced hyperactivation of the immune system can alter the tolerogenic mechanism that keeps the immune system under control and prevents harmful autoimmune reactions. Therefore, after the adjuvant vaccination, because of the massive similarity of microbe and human peptides, specific reactions can begin against the molecules or organs of the vaccine recipient, thus triggering autoimmune processes. The type of autoimmune disease will depend on the affected molecules or organs. For example, a reaction to myelin and its associated structures can cause demyelinating diseases, while an immune response against proteins and antigens that influence behavior or cognition can cause ASD or behavioral disorders.
To summarize: peptide similarity, microbe evasion of the immune system, low vaccine efficacy, the use of adjuvants and autoimmune cross-reaction can form a vicious cycle leading to autoimmunity post vaccination. [1]

Proteins, which are used as antigens in hepatitis B and HPV vaccines, have peptides, which are identical to the peptides in human protein. Cross-reactions between these two antigens and human proteins can cause cardiovascular diseases, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, pancreatitis, cancer, neurological disorders, sudden death, hearing and vision impairment, impaired spermatogenesis and other diseases.
The authors conclude that peptides not found in human proteins should be used as vaccine antigens. This will eliminate the risk of cross-reactions, and also, likely lead to adjuvants not being needed, since immunogenic response to unknown peptides will be strong enough. [1]

Influenza, measles, mumps and rubella viruses contain numerous peptides that overlap with human ones, and their quantity is higher than randomly expected. The same goes for poliovirus.
Doctors and immunologists usually consider viruses as harmful entities to fight with and destroy. However, viruses and people do not seem to be in such a hostile relationship. Viruses played a critical role in major evolutionary transitions, such as the appearance of DNA and DNA replication mechanisms, formation of the three-domains of life, and the origin of the eukaryotic nucleus. Viruses seem to have played a central role in the entire evolution of life. This evolutionary scenario can not only deepen our understanding of autoimmune events, but also cast a shadow over the current vaccination practice. Only vaccines based on peptides that are infection-specific will not lead to autoimmune cross-reactions against human proteins.

Tetanus toxin contains numerous peptides, changes in which are associated with epilepsy. A lot of evidence suggests that immune mechanisms may play a role in processes leading to epilepsy. Antibodies against neuronal antigens involved in neurotransmission were found in patients with epilepsy, and surprisingly, epilepsy responded to immunotherapeutic methods. Overall, the data supports the possibility that immune cross-reactions can occur between tetanus toxin and proteins associated with epilepsy.

Pertussis bacterium contains numerous peptides, changes in which are associated with sudden death. Statistical data shows a sharp increase in the number of cases of sudden death from cardiovascular diseases among people under 35 years of age. The reason for this is unknown.

The HPV vaccine, which can contribute to the formation of antibodies against proteins associated with cardiac activity, may be responsible for the unexplained death from cardiovascular diseases.

A 20-year-old man received an HPV vaccine, and one week later he began experiencing severe abdominal pain. He was hospitalized and got discharged with the diagnosis of “severe pain for an unknown reason.” A week after the hospitalization, he received the second dose of the vaccine, and in 10 days he was hospitalized again with the “acute pancreatitis” diagnosis due to the worsening pain. Despite the opiates, the pain did not decrease and he lost 9 kg. He had a jejunal tube placed (an opening in the stomach that allows to insert food directly into the small intestine), and then his gall bladder was removed. Despite all this, he suffers from chronic pain and takes opiates.
The authors also cite other cases of pancreatitis after vaccination, and conclude that pancreatitis caused by vaccination is, most likely, the result of molecular mimicry. This kind of pancreatitis is under-diagnosed, if can often be masked by the presence of a more common cause, and mistakenly diagnoses as idiopathic pancreatitis.

The authors analyzed the data from all epidemiological studies from 1980 to 2016, and concluded that there is not enough data to determine whether there is a causal relationship between vaccination and autoimmune diseases.

As in the case of ASD, despite the fact that animal and biological studies clearly indicate a link between allergic and autoimmune diseases, and despite the numerous documented cases of the onset or exacerbation of the disease immediately after vaccination, epidemiological studies do not always find this association. In most cases, these studies do not compare vaccinated people to unvaccinated people, but rather to people vaccinated with different vaccines. There are several studies, however, that compared vaccinated to completely unvaccinated people, and still, allegedly, do not find a connection. One of them is cited in chapter about Unvaccinated (McKeever, 2004). Here is another one:

It is known that among people practicing anthroposophic lifestyle, the risk of allergic disease is much lower. Anthroposophic lifestyle is characterized by a preference for home births, a long breastfeeding period, a diet of organic products with an accent on vegetarian diet, limited use of antibiotics and antipyretics, and low level of vaccination, among other things.
This prospective study, which lasted 5 years, found that there were 2-3 times less cases of allergies among unvaccinated people. This correlation persisted even after the authors corrected the results for allergy risk factors (sex of the child, parental sensitization, mother’s education, mother’s smoking during pregnancy, number of siblings, life with animals on the farm, and exclusive breastfeeding till the age of 6 months). However, after the authors corrected for the anthroposophic lifestyle, it turned out that there was no longer a statistically significant difference between the vaccinated and unvaccinated. Despite the fact that the division into anthroposophic, partially anthroposophic and non-anthroposophic lifestyles was based on the subjective assessment of the parents, the authors conclude that there is no link between vaccination and allergies, and some other, unknown component of the anthroposophic lifestyle affects the reduced risk of allergies.