Susceptibility genes in autoimmune hepatitis

Abstract

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH)is a rare chronic inflammatory liver disease, characterized by high levels of immunoglobulins, presence of non organ- specific autoantibodies and interface hepatitis. Around 50% of patients with AIH-1 have high levels of IgE without etiology, as parasitosis or atopia. The genetic susceptibility is strongly associated with genes encoding histocompatibility molecules (HLA). The strong association with the MHC region and frequent presence of these alleles in the normal population and rare incidence of the disease led us to propose linked additional susceptibility genes. Genes in the class III region of MHC have been shown as secondary "loci" associated with several diseases of immune origin. We propose to evaluate these genes together with other genes that have an influence in the IgE production. (AU)