Abstract

Lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease with severe skin involvement and/or multisystemic implications characterized by the development of autoantibodies and immune complexes that, in turn, cause inflammation, tissue damage and a variety of clinical manifestations. The etiopathogeny of lupus erythematosus is very complex and still incompletely discovered. The onset of this disease or the episodes of exacerbation involves various factors: genetic, immune, hormonal, environmental but many more are still under research. There is strong evidence to back up the theory of an autoimmune disease, even though the precise mechanism is yet to be discovered. Apart from a preexisting background predisposing to lupus, certain triggers are required to act in a synergic way to determine the onset of the clinical signs. Studies show that it is 10-15 times more common in women of childbearing age than men, with a higher incidence amongst Afro-American population compared to Caucasians. The aim of this article is to shed some light on the most important determining and trigger factors involved in systemic lupus erythematosus by reviewing the most recent published data.

Highlights

  • The identification and characterization of genetic risk factors for lupus will lead to improved diagnosis and therapeutic management for this complex disease [1,2,3,4,5,6]

  • All the research available up until today underline that genes are associated with the clearance of immune complexes, genetic markers are associated with immune abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and genes are associated with apoptosis in SLE

  • The newly discovered action mechanism relays on the disturbance in immune function on mice: receptor gene, Ly108 contributes to the loss of control on B lymphocytes, which in turn causes the production of autoantibodies responsible for clinical manifestations of SLE [14,15]

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The identification and characterization of genetic risk factors for lupus will lead to improved diagnosis and therapeutic management for this complex disease [1,2,3,4,5,6]. All the research available up until today underline that genes are associated with the clearance of immune complexes, genetic markers are associated with immune abnormalities in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and genes are associated with apoptosis in SLE. Genetic component is not the only risk factor involved. In the following we will try to synthetize all the major factors and their impact in the development of this disease

Genetic factors
Hormonal factors
Ultraviolet radiation
Viral infections
Immune system disorders
Bacterial infections
Smoking and alcohol consumption
Vitamin D deficiency
Chemical factors
Findings
CONCLUSIONS

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