Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

Gut Health 101-3 | Autoimmune Diseases_ The Gun and Trigger Analogy

11 Feb 2025 · 0 min

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0:27

Short excerpt from a YouTube lecture (Aaron Hartman, MD) using the "gun and trigger" analogy to explain autoimmune disease: genes provide susceptibility ("load the gun") while environmental factors (infections, leaky gut) "pull the trigger" by activating genes and disrupting immune tolerance. The speaker describes how impaired T regulatory cells and co-stimulation can lead to presentation of self antigens and B cells producing autoantibodies — a final common pathway for autoimmunity.

Genes load the gun, environment pulls the trigger. A gene is activated by the combination of, as you alluded to, some infection, a combination of leaky gut where you start to get that loss of immune tolerance that we alluded to in our last video. Those T regulatory cells that are supposed to know the difference between self and foreign are getting a little bit gray in that area. Now all of a sudden we have CO stimulation presenting of self antigen and B cells start making antibodies to self. So it's that final common pathway.