Immunogenetics of pemphigus: an update.
Pemphigus are rare but informative models of organ-specific autoimmune diseases, resulting from the interplay of environmental, genetic and stochastic factors. There are many arguments to consider that pemphigus have a genetic basis involving, as many other autoimmune diseases, several different genes with additive or synergistic effects. So far, the unique strategy used to identify the contributive loci has been direct analysis of candidate genes through conventional case-control association studies. The major histocompatibility complex in particular the class II locus was demonstrated to be associated with pemphigus with a high rate of replicability. The progresses in the understanding of pemphigus physiopathology and the development of new molecular tools offer new perspectives to unveiled the genetic basis of this group of autoimmune blistering diseases, as shown by recent studies of candidate genes expressed at different levels of the autoimmune process.
Tron
François
F
Faculté de Médicine et de Pharmacie, INSERM U519, Université de Rouen, Rouen, France.
Gilbert
Danièle
D
Joly
Pascal
P
Mouquet
Hugo
H
Drouot
Laurent
L
Ayed
Mourad Ben
MB
Sellami
Myriam
M
Masmoudi
Hatem
H
Makni
Sondès
S
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000235:genetics; D020412:Multifactorial Inheritance / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D010392:Pemphigus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*