Current advances in the genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis

Fatemeh Roshani,1,* Atefeh sohanforooshan moghadam,2 Mohsen soosanabadi,3 Emran esmaeilzade,4 Sajjad biglari,5

1. Nourdanesh Institute of Higher Education,Meyme,Esfahan,Iran
2. Nourdanesh Institute of Higher Education,Meyme,Esfahan,Iran
3. Genetics research center, University of social welfare and rehabilitation sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran.
4. Genetics research center, University of social welfare and rehabilitation sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran.
5. Genetics research center, University of social welfare and rehabilitation sciences (USWR), Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Introduction

Rheumatoid arthritis (ra) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by a distinctive pattern of joint involvement and joint destruction. rheumatoid arthritis pathogenesis involves both genetic and environmental factors, but the complete etiological picture remains unclear. the genetic basis of ra is quite complex. genetic factors contribute 50 to 60% to the risk of developing ra. more evidence for a strong inherited component in ra is supported by association studies of ra with variants in the human leukocyte antigen (hla) region, particularly the hla-drb1 gene in a wide range of populations. after the discovery of hla associations, traditional linkage and association studies have identified new ra risk loci. in this work we review the progress made in the field of ra genetics, focusing mainly on the contribution of candidate gene association studies to the dissection of ra genetic risk factors.

Methods

We review here in recent progress made in the field of ra genetics. our collective understanding of genetic basis of rheumatoid arthritis has increased considerably in recent years

Results

In this review, we describe the genetic architecture of ra. in addition, we discuss the pathologic mechanism of the disease by examining the combined findings of genetic and functional studies of individual ra-associated genes, including hla-drb1, padi4, ptpn22, tnfaip3, stat4, and ccr6. moreover, we briefly examine the potential use of genetic data in clinical practice in ra treatment, which represents a challenge in medical genetics in the post-gwas era.

Conclusion

It is expected that within the next few years, the genetic etiology of ra will be substantially resolved by the repeated use of gwas for populations worldwide and the meta-analysis of these studies. the translation of genetic information to support clinical management in disease diagnosis, treatment and prediction is estimated to become a reality in the near future as a consequence of the recent exciting genetic discoveries.

Keywords

rheumatoid arthritis ,genetic ,gwas.