title: Multiple genes, especially immune-regulating genes, contribute to disease susceptibility in systemic sclerosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex autoimmune disorder that occurs in a genetically susceptible host. Genetic studies of SSc in recent years have defined or suggested a number of new genes with polymorphisms conferring susceptibility to or protection against SSc.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Although not all genes fall neatly into one functional category, the major genes with polymorphisms associated with SSc are those involved in immune regulation and inflammation, especially T-cell differentiation, proliferation, activation, B-cell signaling, and innate immunity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Understanding the functions of SSc-associated genes will provide important new insights in future studies to explore the pathogenesis of SSc, as well as to develop targeted therapies for SSc.
authors.affiliation: aDepartment of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, Texas, USA bDepartment of Internal Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
authors.forename: Yunqing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics