Polymorphisms in Immune Response Genes in Infectious Diseases and Autoimmune Diseases
Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The clinical presentation of infections caused by the same micro-organism is highly\ndiverse. This is for example demonstrated for infections with Neisseria meningitidis\nand respiratory syncytial virus. Some patients infected with N. meningitidis develop\nmeningitis, while others present with sepsis or even septic shock. Moreover, only part\nof the individuals colonized with N. meningitidis develops clinical disease indicating\na different susceptibility between individuals to develop clinical disease. The disease\nphenotype in respiratory syncytial virus infection varies from a common cold to severe\nbronchiolitis which requires mechanical ventilation.(1) A similar variation is observed\nin autoimmune diseases: While some patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have\nrelatively mild disease, in others joint erosion develops rather early after diagnosis.\nAlthough part of these variations in susceptibility and severity of infection is explained\nby, for example, age or crowding, the reasons for this variation are not completely\nclear. Genetic heterogeneity is thought to play a role.
Author: Marieke Emonts
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1698295162