Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disease characterized by the production of antinuclear autoantibodies and the inflammatory infiltration of many organ systems. SLE is a complex disorder in which multiple genetic variants, together with environmental and hormonal factors, contribute to disease risk. In this article, we summarize our current understanding of the genetic contribution to SLE in light of recent genome-wide association studies, which have brought the total number of confirmed SLE susceptibility loci to 29. In the second section, we explore the functional implications of these risk loci and, in particular, highlight the role that many of these genes play in the Toll-like receptor and type I interferon signaling pathways. Finally, we discuss the genetic overlap between SLE and other autoimmune and inflammatory conditions as several risk loci are shared among multiple disorders, suggesting common underlying pathogenic mechanisms.
Keywordsgenome-wide association studies; pathogenesis; systemic lupus erythematosus; Toll-like receptor signaling; type I interferon signaling Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women of childbearing age. The incidence of SLE in the general US population is approximately one in 2000, with a nine-to-one female gender bias and a two-tofourfold greater prevalence in non-Caucasian compared with Caucasian populations [1]. In SLE, the tissue deposition of autoantibodies and immune complexes (ICs) leads to destructive inflammation in many organ systems, including the skin, blood elements, joints, kidneys, serosa, CNS and other tissues. The clinical manifestations of SLE are diverse, with renal inflammation (glomerulonephritis) being the most common cause of morbidity and mortality. A hallmark of SLE is the production of autoantibodies directed against intracellular antigens, many of which are associated with the nucleic acids DNA or RNA [2]. The cellular and