The developing mosaic of autoimmune disease risk

The developing mosaic of autoimmune disease risk

Nature Genetics 40, 131 (2008). doi:10.1038/ng0208-131

Authors: Lisa M Maier & David A Hafler

The discovery of new risk variants for systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE), particularly around lymphocyte signaling pathways and integrins involved in clearing complement, provides fresh insights into this common human autoimmune disease. Understanding the role of the variants in disease pathophysiology and translating these findings into new therapies present major and urgent challenges to medical scientists.