Autoimmune diseases are a heterogeneous group of disorders affecting different organs
and tissues. New tools, such as genome-wide association studies, have provided evidence
for new susceptibility loci and candidate genes in the disease process including common
susceptibility genes involved in the immunological synapse and T cell activation. Close
linkages have been found in a number of diseases, including ankylosing spondylitis,
multiple sclerosis, Crohn's disease and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Type 1 …