ETHNIC VARIATION AND AUTOIMMUNITY

易患多种疾病，疑似自身免疫性疾病 起源，与免疫球蛋白超基因家族的基因相关联。 这些基因包括主要的II类基因 组织相容性复合体、免疫球蛋白基因和基因 编码T淋巴细胞上的抗原特异性受体。我们会 研究三种疾病，包括重症肌无力和天疱疮 普通人，这是自体免疫状况调节的明显例子 通过抗体和多发性硬化症，推测是一种自身免疫 神经性疾病。我们将研究MHC类之间的联系 II基因、免疫球蛋白基因和TCR基因与这些疾病 利用RFLP分析和基因组测序，利用 聚合酶链式反应技术。我们已经看到了 人类白细胞抗原II类基因与免疫球蛋白重链的相关性 同种异型和T细胞受体基因型别与易感性 疾病，通常在患有这些疾病的人身上保持 不同种族背景的人。这些数据提供了有力的支持 为了让这些基因直接参与自身免疫性疾病， 因为与易感性相关的等位基因不太可能 在不同种族中仍与相同的等位基因连锁 边界。我们将研究北方的MS、MG和PV患者 美国、日本、澳大利亚、法国、奥地利和以色列(阿拉伯和 犹太人)。免疫球蛋白超基因与 为了设计新的治疗方法，人们已经利用了这种疾病 人类自身免疫性疾病的治疗方法已见成效 在治疗实验动物的自身免疫状况方面，包括 恒河猴。

Susceptibility to many diseases, suspected to be of autoimmune origin, is linked to genes of the immunoglobulin supergene family. These genes include the class II genes of the major histocompatibility complex, the immunoglobulin genes, and the genes encoding the antigen-specific receptor on T lymphocytes. We will study three diseases, including myasthenia gravis and pemphigus vulgaris, that are clear examples of autoimmune conditions mediated by antibody, and multiple sclerosis, a putative autoimmune neurologic disease. We will study associations between MHC class II genes, immunoglobulin genes, and TcR genes and these diseases using RFLP analysis and genomic sequencing, utilizing the polymerase chain reaction technology. We have seen that associations between class II HLA genes, immunoglobulin heavy chain allotype and T cell receptor genotype and susceptibility to disease, are often maintained in individuals with these diseases of different ethnic backgrounds. These data provide strong support for a direct participation for these genes in autoimmune disease, since it is unlikely that an allele linked to susceptibility would have remained in linkage with the same alleles across ethnic boundaries. We will study patients with MS, MG and PV in North America, Japan, Australia, France, Austria, and Israel (Arab and Jew). These associations between immunoglobulin supergenes and disease have been exploited in order to design new therapeutic approaches from human autoimmune disease that have shown results in treating autoimmune conditions in laboratory animals including rhesus monkeys.