Analysis of the Fc Receptor-Like-3 (<i>FCRL3</i>) Locus in Caucasians with Autoimmune Disorders Suggests a Complex Pattern of Disease Association

Abstract

The FCRL3 haplotype that is associated with AAD in Caucasians appears to be protective for autoimmune diseases in the Japanese population, demonstrating that this haplotype is unlikely to contain a single primary etiological allele for autoimmunity. Our observations suggest that the susceptibility to autoimmunity at the FCRL3 locus is more complex than initially thought and may extend either side of the currently associated region to include the adjacent FCRL2 gene.