Autoimmune diseases: insights from genome-wide association studies

Autoimmune diseases occur when an individual's own immune system attacks and destroys his or her healthy cells and tissues. Although it is clear that environmental stimuli can predispose someone to develop autoimmune diseases, twin- and family-based studies have shown that genetic factors also play an important role in modifying disease risk. Because many of these diseases are relatively common (prevalence in European-derived populations: 0.01-11%) and exhibit a complex mode of inheritance, many DNA sequence variants with modest effect on disease risk contribute to the genetic burden. Recently, the completion of the HapMap project, together with the development of new genotyping technologies, has given human geneticists the tools necessary to comprehensively, and in an unbiased manner, search our genome for DNA polymorphisms associated with many autoimmune diseases. Here we review recent progress made in the identification of genetic risk factors for celiac disease, Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and type-1 diabetes using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Strikingly, GWAS have increased the number of genetic risk variants associated with these autoimmune diseases from 15 before 2006 to 68 now. We summarize what this new genetic landscape teaches us in terms of the pathogenesis of these diseases, and highlight some of the outstanding challenges ahead. Finally, we open a discussion on ways to best maximize the impact of these genetic discoveries where it matters the most, that is for autoimmune disease patients.