Genetics of ankylosing spondylitis

M.A. Brown¹, B.P. Wordsworth², J.D. Reveille³

¹Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Spondyloarthritis and Bone Disease Research Group, Oxford; ²Roosevelt Drive, Headington, United Kingdom; ³Department of Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, USA.

ABSTRACT
Ankylosing spondilitis is a common inflammatory rheumatic disease. Both susceptibility to and clinical mannifestations of the disease are highly heritable. Although some genes, notably HLA-B27, have been implicated in susceptibility to the disease, the genetics of the condition are complex and many more genes involved in the condition await discovery.

Key words
Ankylosing spondylitis, spondyloarthritis, genetics, linkage, association, HLA.

MAB is supported by the Arthritis Research Campaign (UK).
Please address correspondence to: Matthew A. Brown, Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Spondyloarthritis and Bone Disease Research Group, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, OX3 7BN, United Kingdom. 
E-mail: mbrown@well.ox.ac.uk

Clin Exp Rheumatol 2002; 20: (Suppl. 28): S43-S49.
© Copyright Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2002.