Leading labs at the NIH and Johns Hopkins are using advanced imaging and molecular tools to pinpoint what triggers autoimmune diseases and how to stop the immune system from attacking healthy tissue. The NIH counts roughly 140 autoimmune diseases affecting tens of millions. Researchers study destructive T cells and antibody-producing B cells with color-coded imaging, and are developing therapies from immune-pathway–targeting drugs in early trials to nanoparticle and B-cell–targeting approaches still in the lab. Teams are also probing root causes—such as why diseases like lupus disproportionately affect women.
Inside the Labs Unraveling Autoimmune Disease: How Scientists Hunt Rogue Immune Cells
Leading labs at the NIH and Johns Hopkins are using advanced imaging and molecular tools to pinpoint what triggers autoimmune diseases and how to stop the immune system from attacking healthy tissue. The NIH counts roughly 140 autoimmune diseases affecting tens of millions. Researchers study destructive T cells and antibody-producing B cells with color-coded imaging, and are developing therapies from immune-pathway–targeting drugs in early trials to nanoparticle and B-cell–targeting approaches still in the lab. Teams are also probing root causes—such as why diseases like lupus disproportionately affect women.
11:58 PM, 11/13/2025Health
PHOTO ESSAY: Inside the labs fighting autoimmune disease
A close look inside several leading research laboratories shows how scientists—acting like detectives—are methodically trying to identify what triggers autoimmune diseases and how to stop the immune system from attacking the body instead of defending it.
Scope of the problem. The National Institutes of Health’s latest tally lists roughly 140 autoimmune diseases that together affect tens of millions of people. Solving these disorders requires patience, persistence and advanced technology simply to see the cellular “suspects.”
Tools of the trade. Investigators rely on laser-powered instruments and vivid fluorescent dyes to distinguish rogue immune cells from healthy ones and to map how cells interact inside tissues.
Type 1 diabetes — a close-up. In a biomedical engineering lab at Johns Hopkins University, researchers view mouse pancreatic tissue on monitors. Destructive T cells show up in red, while regulatory “peacemaker” cells that should dampen autoimmune responses appear in yellow—yet those helpful cells are often outnumbered.
B cells and myositis. Another immune player, the B cell, causes harm by producing antibodies that misidentify healthy tissue as foreign. At NIH, Dr. Iago Pinal-Fernandez studies myositis, a poorly understood group of muscle-weakening disorders. His work shows rogue antibodies can do more than cling to muscle surfaces: they can enter muscle fibers and disrupt internal processes, helping explain why symptoms vary among patients.
“When I started, nothing was known about the type of autoimmune disease we study. Now finally we’re able to tell patients, ‘You have this disease and this is the mechanism of disease,’” Dr. Pinal-Fernandez said.
Probing root causes. In another NIH program, Dr. Mariana Kaplan’s team is investigating what first tips the immune system into chaos—and why autoimmune illnesses like lupus so often strike women.
From symptom control to fixing pathways. Current drugs mainly suppress symptoms rather than correcting the underlying immune dysfunction. Several experimental treatments now in early-phase clinical trials aim to repair faulty immune pathways rather than only easing signs and symptoms.
Next-generation approaches in the lab. At Johns Hopkins, scientists are developing nanoparticle-based therapies designed to reduce the pancreas-targeting T cells while boosting protective regulatory cells in Type 1 diabetes. Other teams are designing drugs that seek out and eliminate harmful B cells to treat rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other antibody-driven illnesses while preserving healthy immunity.
Photo story note. This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors. The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.