Clinical features may include constitutional symptoms like fever, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, and kidney failure. A majority of patients may have blood in the urine and protein in the urine. Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis may occur. Because many different organ systems may be involved, a wide range of symptoms are possible in MPA.

Purpura and livedo racemosa may be present.

Hypersensitivity vasculitis (allergic vasculitis). Usually due to a hypersensitivity reaction to a known drug. Drugs most commonly implicated are penicillin, sulphonamides and thiazide diuretics. There is presence of skin vaculitis with palpable petechiae or purpura. Biopsy of these lesions reveal inflammation of the small vessels, termed leukocytoclastic vasculitis, which is most prominent in postcapillary venules. At least 3 out of 5 criteria yields sensitivity and specificity of 71 and 84%:

- age > 16

- use of possible triggering drug in relation to symptoms

- palpable purpura

- maculopapular rash

- skin biopsy showing neutrophils around vessel

IgA vasculitis (IgAV; formerly known as Henoch-Schonlein purpura). Systemic vasculitis due to tissue deposition of IgA-containing immune complexes. Biopsy of lesions shows inflammation of small vessels. It is considered a form of hypersensitivity vasculitis but is distinguished by prominent deposits of IgA. This is the most common vasculitis in children. Presence of 3 or more criteria yielded sensitivity of 87% while less than 2 criteria yielded hypersensitivity vasculitis in 74%:

- palpable purpura (usually of buttocks & legs)

- bowel angina

- GI bleed

- hematuria

- onset < 20 years

- no new medications

Essential cryoglobulinemic vasculitis. Most often due to hepatitis C infection, immune complexes of cryoglobulins --- proteins that consists of immunoglobulins and complement and precipitate in the cold while dissolving upon rewarming --- are deposited in walls of capillaries, venules, or arterioles. Therefore, complement will be low with histology showing vessel inflammation with immune deposits.

Patients usually present with systemic symptoms with single or multiorgan dysfunction. Common (and nonspecific) complaints include fatigue, weakness, fever, arthralgias, abdominal pain, hypertension, renal insufficiency, and neurologic dysfunction. The following symptoms should raise a strong suspicion of a vasculitis:

- Mononeuritis multiplex. Also known as asymmetric polyneuropathy, in a non-diabetic this is suggestive of vasculitis.

- Palpable purpura. If patients have this in isolation, it is most likely due to cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis. If the purpura is in combination with systemic organ involvement, it is most likely to be Henoch-Schonlein purpura or microscopic polyarteritis.

- Pulmonary-renal syndrome. Individuals who are coughing up blood and have kidney involvement are likely to have granulomatosis with polyangiitis, microscopic polyangiitis, or anti-GBM disease (Goodpasture's syndrome).

Microscopic polyangiitis is an ill-defined autoimmune disease characterized by a systemic, pauci-immune, necrotizing, small-vessel vasculitis without clinical or pathological evidence of necrotizing granulomatous inflammation.

A rare autoimmune disease characterized by recurrent urticaria (nettle rash), first described in the 1970s. There is no defined paradigm for the syndrome aetiology and severity in progression. Diagnosis is confirmed with the identification of at least two conditions from: venulitis on skin biopsy, arthritis, ocular inflammation, abdominal pain or positive C1q antibodies to immune complexes. It is this last category, anti-C1q antibodies, that all HUV patients test positive for. "In vitro" experiments and mouse models of the disease have not thoroughly determined the link between these antibodies and the disease, even though the link is so pronounced.

Urticarial vasculitis (also known as "chronic urticaria as a manifestation of venulitis", "hypocomplementemic urticarial vasculitis syndrome", "hypocomplementemic vasculitis" and "unusual lupus-like syndrome") is a skin condition characterized by fixed urticarial lesions that appear histologically as a vasculitis.

Pauci-immune (pauci- Latin: few, little) vasculitis is a form of vasculitis that is associated with minimal evidence of hypersensitivity upon immunofluorescent staining for IgG.

Normally a kidney sample will be subjected to immunofluorescence if rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis is a concern. In this case, the immunofluorescence can show three patterns: linear, granular and negative (pauci-immune). The linear and granular patterns are examples of positive immunofluorescence and are associated with Goodpasture syndrome and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis accordingly. A negative pattern or pauci-immune pattern can be associated with systemic vasculitis such as microscopic polyangiitis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) or granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA). In many cases however, it is limited to the kidney and it is thus called idiopathic.

Since it can be associated with the three systemic vasculitides mentioned above, a pauci-immune pattern finding can be associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). Therefore, an ANCA test should follow a negative immunofluorescence result in order to distinguish between the above-mentioned systemic vasculitis.

Peak incidences in 50- to 60-year-olds symptoms include intermittent fever / weight loss / shortness of breath / joint pain.

Lupus nephritis (also known as SLE nephritis) is an inflammation of the kidneys caused by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease. It is a type of glomerulonephritis in which the glomeruli become inflamed. As the result of SLE, the cause of glomerulonephritis is said to be "secondary" and has a different pattern and outcome from conditions with a "primary" cause originating in the kidney.

Some clinical examples:

Other examples are:

- Subacute bacterial endocarditis

- Symptoms of malaria

An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a normal body part. There are at least 80 types of autoimmune diseases. Nearly any body part can be involved. Common symptoms include low grade fever and feeling tired. Often symptoms come and go.

Type III hypersensitivity occurs when there is an excess of antigen, leading to small immune complexes being formed that fix complement and are not cleared from the circulation. It involves soluble antigens that are not bound to cell surfaces (as opposed to those in type II hypersensitivity). When these antigens bind antibodies, immune complexes of different sizes form. Large complexes can be cleared by macrophages but macrophages have difficulty in the disposal of small immune complexes. These immune complexes insert themselves into small blood vessels, joints, and glomeruli, causing symptoms. Unlike the free variant, a small immune complex bound to sites of deposition (like blood vessel walls) are far more capable of interacting with complement; these medium-sized complexes, formed in the slight excess of antigen, are viewed as being highly pathogenic.

Such depositions in tissues often induce an inflammatory response, and can cause damage wherever they precipitate. The cause of damage is as a result of the action of cleaved complement anaphylotoxins C3a and C5a, which, respectively, mediate the induction of granule release from mast cells (from which histamine can cause urticaria), and recruitment of inflammatory cells into the tissue (mainly those with lysosomal action, leading to tissue damage through frustrated phagocytosis by PMNs and macrophages).

The reaction can take hours, days, or even weeks to develop, depending on whether or not there is immunological memory of the precipitating antigen. Typically, clinical features emerge a week following initial antigen challenge, when the deposited immune complexes can precipitate an inflammatory response. Because of the nature of the antibody aggregation, tissues that are associated with blood filtration at considerable osmotic and hydrostatic gradient (e.g. sites of urinary and synovial fluid formation, kidney glomeruli and joint tissues respectively) bear the brunt of the damage. Hence, vasculitis, glomerulonephritis and arthritis are commonly associated conditions as a result of type III hypersensitivity responses.

As observed under methods of histopathology, acute necrotizing vasculitis within the affected tissues is observed concomitant to neutrophilic infiltration, along with notable eosinophilic deposition (fibrinoid necrosis). Often, immunofluorescence microscopy can be used to visualize the immune complexes. Skin response to a hypersensitivity of this type is referred to as an Arthus reaction, and is characterized by local erythema and some induration. Platelet aggregation, especially in microvasculature, can cause localized clot formation, leading to blotchy hemorrhages. This typifies the response to injection of foreign antigen sufficient to lead to the condition of serum sickness.

Class I disease (minimal mesangial glomerulonephritis) in its histology has a normal appearance under a light microscope, but mesangial deposits are visible under an electron microscope. At this stage urinalysis is normal.

Class II disease (mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis) is noted by mesangial hypercellularity and matrix expansion. Microscopic haematuria with or without proteinuria may be seen. Hypertension, nephrotic syndrome, and acute kidney insufficiency are very rare at this stage.

Class III disease (focal glomerulonephritis) is indicated by sclerotic lesions involving less than 50% of the glomeruli, which can be segmental or global, and active or chronic, with endocapillary or extracapillary proliferative lesions. Under the electron microscopy, subendothelial deposits are noted, and some mesangial changes may be present. Immunofluorescence reveals positively for IgG, IgA, IgM, C3, and C1q. Clinically, haematuria and proteinuria are present, with or without nephrotic syndrome, hypertension, and elevated serum creatinine.

Class IV disease (diffuse proliferative nephritis) is both the most severe, and the most common subtype. More than 50% of glomeruli are involved. Lesions can be segmental or global, and active or chronic, with endocapillary or extracapillary proliferative lesions. Under electron microscopy, subendothelial deposits are noted, and some mesangial changes may be present. Clinically, haematuria and proteinuria are present, frequently with nephrotic syndrome, hypertension, hypocomplementemia, elevated anti-dsDNA titres and elevated serum creatinine.

Class V disease (membranous glomerulonephritis) is characterized by diffuse thickening of the glomerular capillary wall (segmentally or globally), with diffuse membrane thickening, and subepithelial deposits seen under the electron microscope. Clinically, stage V presents with signs of nephrotic syndrome. Microscopic haematuria and hypertension may also been seen. Stage V also can also lead to thrombotic complications such as renal vein thromboses or pulmonary emboli.

A final Class is included by most practitioners, Class VI, or advanced sclerosing lupus nephritis. It is represented by global sclerosis involving more than 90% of glomeruli, and represents healing of prior inflammatory injury. Active glomerulonephritis is not usually present. This stage is characterised by slowly progressive kidney dysfunction, with relatively bland urine sediment. Response to immunotherapy is usually poor. A tubuloreticular inclusion within capillary endothelial cells is also characteristic of lupus nephritis, and can be seen under an electron microscope in all stages. It is not diagnostic however, as it exists in other conditions such as HIV infection. It is thought to be due to the chronic interferon exposure.

An autoimmune disease is a condition arising from an abnormal immune response to a normal body part. There are at least 80 types of autoimmune diseases. Nearly any body part can be involved. Common symptoms include low grade fever and feeling tired. Often symptoms come and go.

The cause is generally unknown. Some autoimmune diseases such as lupus run in families, and certain cases may be triggered by infections or other environmental factors. Some common diseases that are generally considered autoimmune include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, Graves' disease, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. The diagnosis can be difficult to determine.

Treatment depends on the type and severity of the condition. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and immunosuppressants are often used. Intravenous Immunoglobulin may also occasionally be used. While treatment usually improves symptoms they do not typically cure the disease.

About 24 million (7%) people in the United States are affected by an autoimmune disease. Women are more commonly affected than men. Often they start during adulthood. The first autoimmune diseases were described in the early 1900s.

An immune disorder is a dysfunction of the immune system. These disorders can be characterized in several different ways:

- By the component(s) of the immune system affected

- By whether the immune system is overactive or underactive

- By whether the condition is congenital or acquired

According to the International Union of Immunological Societies, more than 150 primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) have been characterized. However, the number of acquired immunodeficiencies exceeds the number of PIDs.

It has been suggested that most people have at least one primary immunodeficiency. Due to redundancies in the immune system, though, many of these are never detected.

For a disease to be regarded as an autoimmune disease it needs to answer to "Witebsky's postulates" (first formulated by Ernest Witebsky and colleagues in 1957 and modified in 1994):

- Direct evidence from transfer of disease-causing antibody or disease-causing T lymphocyte white blood cells

- Indirect evidence based on reproduction of the autoimmune disease in experimental animals

- Circumstantial evidence from clinical clues

- Genetic evidence suggesting "clustering" with other autoimmune diseases

Autoimmunity is the system of immune responses of an organism against its own healthy cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an "autoimmune disease". Prominent examples include celiac disease, diabetes mellitus type 1, sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Sjögren's syndrome, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Graves' disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, Addison's disease, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM) and multiple sclerosis (MS). Autoimmune diseases are very often treated with steroids.

These are also referred to as systemic autoimmune diseases. The autoimmune CTDs may have both genetic and environmental causes. Genetic factors may create a predisposition towards developing these autoimmune diseases. They are characterized as a group by the presence of spontaneous overactivity of the immune system that results in the production of extra antibodies into the circulation. The classic collagen vascular diseases have a "classic" presentation with typical findings that doctors can recognize during an examination. Each also has "classic" blood test abnormalities and abnormal antibody patterns. However, each of these diseases can evolve slowly or rapidly from very subtle abnormalities before demonstrating the classic features that help in the diagnosis. The classic collagen vascular diseases include:

- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) – An inflammation of the connective tissues, SLE can afflict every organ system. It is up to nine times more common in women than men and strikes black women three times as often as white women. The condition is aggravated by sunlight.

- Rheumatoid arthritis – Rheumatoid arthritis is a systemic disorder in which immune cells attack and inflame the membrane around joints. It also can affect the heart, lungs, and eyes. Of the estimated 2.1 million Americans with rheumatoid arthritis, approximately 1.5 million (71 percent) are women.

- Scleroderma – an activation of immune cells that produces scar tissue in the skin, internal organs, and small blood vessels. It affects women three times more often than men overall, but increases to a rate 15 times greater for women during childbearing years, and appears to be more common among black women.

- Sjögren's syndrome – also called Sjögren's disease, is a chronic, slowly progressing inability to secrete saliva and tears. It can occur alone or with rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, or systemic lupus erythematosus. Nine out of 10 cases occur in women, most often at or around mid-life.

- Mixed connective tissue disease – Mixed connective-tissue disease (MCTD) is a disorder in which features of various connective-tissue diseases (CTDs) such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); systemic sclerosis (SSc); dermatomyositis (DM); polymyositis (PM); anti-synthetase syndrome; and, occasionally, Sjögren syndrome can coexist and overlap. The course of the disease is chronic and usually milder than other CTDs. In most cases, MCTD is considered an intermediate stage of a disease that eventually becomes either SLE or Scleroderma.

- Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) is a disease in which the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues. It is diagnosed when there is evidence of an existing autoimmune condition which does not meet the criteria for any specific autoimmune disease, such as systemic lupus erythematosus or scleroderma. Latent lupus and incomplete lupus are alternative terms that have been used to describe this condition.

- Psoriatic arthritis is also a collagen vascular disease.

A connective tissue disease is any disease that has the connective tissues of the body as a target of pathology. Connective tissue is any type of biological tissue with an extensive extracellular matrix that supports, binds together, and protects organs. These tissues form a framework, or matrix, for the body, and are composed of two major structural protein molecules: collagen and elastin. There are many different types of collagen protein in each of the body's tissues. Elastin has the capability of stretching and returning to its original length—like a spring or rubber band. Elastin is the major component of ligaments (tissues that attach bone to bone) and skin. In patients with connective tissue disease, it is common for collagen and elastin to become injured by inflammation (ICT). Many connective tissue diseases feature abnormal immune system activity with inflammation in tissues as a result of an immune system that is directed against one's own body tissues (autoimmunity).

Diseases in which inflammation or weakness of collagen tends to occur are also referred to as collagen diseases. Collagen vascular diseases can be (but are not necessarily) associated with collagen and blood vessel abnormalities and that are autoimmune in nature. See also vasculitis.

Connective tissue diseases can have strong or weak inheritance risks, and can also be caused by environmental factors.

The following are conditions commonly associated with pyoderma gangrenosum:

- Inflammatory bowel disease:

- Ulcerative colitis

- Crohn's disease

- Arthritides:

- Rheumatoid arthritis

- Seronegative arthritis

- Hematological disease:

- Myelocytic leukemia

- Hairy cell leukemia

- Myelofibrosis

- Myeloid metaplasia

- Monoclonal gammopathy

- Autoinflammatory disease:

- Pyogenic sterile arthritis, pyoderma gangrenosum, and acne syndrome (PAPA syndrome)

- Granulomatosis with polyangiitis

Autoimmune diseases can be broadly divided into systemic and organ-specific or localised autoimmune disorders, depending on the principal clinico-pathologic features of each disease.

- Systemic autoimmune diseases include SLE, Sjögren's syndrome, sarcoidosis, scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, cryoglobulinemic vasculitis, and dermatomyositis. These conditions tend to be associated with autoantibodies to antigens which are not tissue specific. Thus although polymyositis is more or less tissue specific in presentation, it may be included in this group because the autoantigens are often ubiquitous t-RNA synthetases.

- Local syndromes which affect a specific organ or tissue:

- Endocrinologic: Diabetes mellitus type 1, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Addison's disease

- Gastrointestinal: Coeliac disease, Crohn's disease, Pernicious anaemia

- Dermatologic: Pemphigus vulgaris, Vitiligo

- Haematologic: Autoimmune haemolytic anaemia, Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura

- Neurological: Multiple sclerosis, Myasthenia gravis, Encephalitis

Using the traditional “organ specific” and “non-organ specific” classification scheme, many diseases have been lumped together under the autoimmune disease umbrella. However, many chronic inflammatory human disorders lack the telltale associations of B and T cell driven immunopathology. In the last decade it has been firmly established that tissue "inflammation against self" does not necessarily rely on abnormal T and B cell responses.

This has led to the recent proposal that the spectrum of autoimmunity should be viewed along an “immunological disease continuum,” with classical autoimmune diseases at one extreme and diseases driven by the innate immune system at the other extreme. Within this scheme, the full spectrum of autoimmunity can be included. Many common human autoimmune diseases can be seen to have a substantial innate immune mediated immunopathology using this new scheme. This new classification scheme has implications for understanding disease mechanisms and for therapy development.

Diffuse proliferative nephritis (DPN) or glomerulonephritis (DPGN) is a type of glomerulonephritis that is the most serious form of renal lesions in SLE and is also the most common, occurring in 35% to 60% of patients. Most of the glomeruli show endothelial and mesangial proliferation affecting the entire glomerulus, leading to diffuse hypercellularity of the glomeruli, producing in some cases epithelial crescents that fill Bowman's space. When extensive, immune complexes create an overall thickening of the capillary wall, resembling rigid "wire loops" on routine light microscopy. Electron microscopy reveals electron-dense subendothelial immune complexes (between endothelium and basement membrane). Immune complexes can be visualized by staining with fluorescent antibodies directed against immunoglobulins or complement, resulting in a granular fluorescent staining pattern. In due course, glomerular injury gives rise to scarring (glomerulosclerosis). Most of these patients have hematuria with moderate to severe proteinuria, hypertension, and renal insufficiency.

Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a syndrome of the kidney that is characterized by a rapid loss of renal function, (usually a 50% decline in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) within 3 months) with glomerular crescent formation seen in at least 50% or 75% of glomeruli seen on kidney biopsies. If left untreated, it rapidly progresses into acute renal failure and death within months. In 50% of cases, RPGN is associated with an underlying disease such as Goodpasture syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus or granulomatosis with polyangiitis; the remaining cases are idiopathic. Regardless of the underlying cause, RPGN involves severe injury to the kidneys' glomeruli, with many of the glomeruli containing characteristic glomerular crescents (crescent-shaped scars).

Hypersensitivity (also called hypersensitivity reaction or intolerance) is a set of undesirable reactions produced by the normal immune system, including allergies and autoimmunity. They are usually referred to as an over- reaction of the immune system and these reactions may be damaging, uncomfortable, or occasionally fatal. Hypersensitivity reactions require a pre-sensitized (immune) state of the host. They are classified in four groups after the proposal of P. G. H. Gell and Robin Coombs in 1963.

Most types of RPGN are characterized by severe and rapid loss of kidney function featuring severe hematuria (blood in the urine), red blood cell casts in the urine, and proteinuria (protein in the urine), sometimes exceeding 3 g protein/24 h, a range associated with nephrotic syndrome. Some patients also experience hypertension (high blood pressure) and edema. Severe disease is characterized by pronounced oliguria or anuria, which portends a poor prognosis.

This is an additional type that is sometimes (especially in the UK) used as a distinction from Type 2.

Instead of binding to cell surfaces, the antibodies recognise and bind to the cell surface receptors, which either prevents the intended ligand binding with the receptor or mimics the effects of the ligand, thus impairing cell signaling.

Some clinical examples:

- Graves' disease

- Myasthenia gravis

The use of Type 5 is rare. These conditions are more frequently classified as Type 2, though sometimes they are specifically segregated into their own subcategory of Type 2.