Genetic predisposition, humans

The translation from genetic knowledge to a molecular understanding of disease is contributing to the development of improved diagnostic and therapeutic products. Here, we briefly cover the localisation of autoimmune disease-associated loci and examine recent progress in molecular understanding of autoimmune disease that has been facilitated by these approaches. We concentrate primarily on progress in the genetics of type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus, and draw attention to parallels and contrasts between these diseases, other autoimmune diseases and other immune diseases