Genetic control of T cell immune tolerance mechanisms and susceptibility to autoimmune disease
Year: 2008
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: The majority of human autoimmune diseases have a complex aetiology with strong genetic and environmental components. The genetic component of disease susceptibility is generally highly polygenic, with multiple loci acting synergistically, and genetically heterogenous, with diverse sets of polymorphic loci capable of driving the same autoimmune reaction. The genetics of autoimmunity is further complicated by the division of genetic susceptibility into general autoimmune propensity polymorphisms and disease-specific polymorphisms. Despite the complexity of autoimmune genetics at the locus level, it appears that a limited number of conserved mechanistic pathways are affected by genetic polymorphisms. The conserved tolerance pathways subverted by autoimmune polymorphisms are being unravelled by the analysis of mouse models of autoimmunity. These models have identified three key fragile links in the T cell tolerance pathway-antigen presentation and the apoptotic response in the thymus, cis-and transacting peripheral suppression of autoreactive T cells, and the target organ response to autoimmunity. © 2008 Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
Source: Lirias
Institution: University of Washington
Language: English
Topic: T-cell and B-cell Immunology
Subfield: Immunology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2519796613