Dee,
I was into biology too, I now wish I had done it longer at university..
There is new thinking about the causes of autoimmune diseases, being caused by infectious pathogens like viruses and bacteria. Bacteria are especially interesting, as they can change form into the so-called L-form and evade being detected. The NIH microbiome project has sequenced human DNA and discovered that bacterial cells outnumber human cells in the human body by 10 - 1.
http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/hmp/
Scientists figure that less than 1% of bacteria have been studied and are known about. Researchers can only detect L-form bacteria using special processes. These bacteria are also known as cell-wall deficient (CWD) and biofilms. These bacteria are not a new discovery, they have been known about for about 100 years but have not been extensively studied because they are very hard to culture, and medicine has ignored them, however veterinary medicine is well familiar with them. There are diseases causing anemia in cats and dogs known to be caused by infections. Excellent video from one of the L-form experts is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WozrCFW0mRM
The new science suggests these bacteria are capable of hijacking the VDR (vitamin D receptor - each cell with a nucleus contains VDR). The VDR controls a lot of hormonal systems in the body and also controls the innate immune system. The bacteria evade being eaten by the WBCs and hide out in them, where they slowly start to hijack the VDRs and eventually unbalance your immune system. Some studies actually suggest that autoimmune disease is your body doing what it is supposed to do and attacking those bacteria and unfortunately taking out your cells in the process.
Your immune system will also create antimicrobial peptides which are the body's natural antibiotics, if your immune system is not suppressed. My ANC is .7 and my WBC is 1.4 and I've been doing pretty good avoiding being sick (my husband had a chest cold, I did not). I am taking olmesartan because it was found to help regulate the VDR and help restore the innate immune system. My treatment involves taking olmesartan 4x a day and avoiding vitamin D.
My guess from the research I have done is your immune system is working properly as far as creating more WBCs when detecting an infection. That's what it's supposed to do. I also believe we can have certain infections that can't be detected, whether bacterial or viral that can hugely affect the bone marrow.
The treatment I'm on is the Marshall Protocol. My hematologist isn't prescribing it but she agreed to support me on it by ordering the transfusions. My GP is also in favour of it although he's not prescribing it. So far (almost 3 months in) I am still transfusion-dependent with plummeting RBC / HGB, and low WBCs, but I feel so much better than when I was on cyclosporine with a stable HGB. I'm not scared to death of catching a simple cold and I have been able to fight off small stuff like mouth ulcers without a problem. I think the treatment is going to take a long time, but yesterday as I was getting a transfusion, someone was there with shingles and renal failure from immune suppression.
I'm not knocking anyone's choice of treatment, Lord knows these diseases are terrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I really believe there have got to be better treatment options for autoimmune diseases than suppressing your immune system. IMHO.