The mosaic of autoimmunity: genetic factors involved in autoimmune diseases--2008.

Abstract

Vol 10 January 2008 Genetic Factors in Autoimmune Diseases Thirty years ago we referred to the “Mosaic of Autoimmunity” [1] as the combination of factors associated with the induction of autoimmune diseases. We classified the factors as genetic, immune, hormonal, and environmental. For a specific autoim-mune condition to develop, a particular combination of these factors (like the pebbles or small pieces of glass or ceramics that comprise a mosaic) is required. This scheme may explain several phenomena; for example: a) why one patient with sys-temic lupus erythematosus differs in his/her clinical presentation from another; b) why in the same family the mother may have SLE, her son pemphigus vulgaris, and her daughter juvenile type 1 diabetes mellitus; c) why a patient afflicted with one autoim-mune disease is more prone to develop another [2-6]; d) why a “change” in one component of the immune system (splenectomy or thymectomy for example) can ameliorate one autoimmune dis-ease, yet “switch” the patient’s condition to another autoimmune disease (known as “the kaleidoscope of autoimmunity”) [6-10].Our knowledge of the mosaic – namely, the factors involved in autoimmunity – has grown extensively over the last three