Current advances in lupus genetic and genomic studies in Asia

The genetic components in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have long been established, however, it has been unclear for many years whether the same genetic risk factors for SLE are shared across different ethnic groups. Over the past few years, a number of genetic and genomic studies have been conducted in Asian populations to address this question. These studies have demonstrated that genetic heterogeneity does exist in SLE across different ethnic groups. With these studies, it has been established that a number of genes associated with SLE in Caucasians are also risk factors in Asians: HLA class II genes, STAT4, BANK1, BLK, IRF5, TNFSF4, ITGAM, etc., while there are also novel genetic risk factors identified by these studies in Asians, for instance, the ETS1 and WDFY4 in Chinese. For the genomic studies, the interferon signature has been confirmed as a major lupus molecular phenotype in Asians the same as in Caucasians; microRNA expression profiling and its novel role in regulating the interferon pathway has been first revealed in Asians. Further understanding of the function of lupus disease genes and delineating the key molecular pathway(s) will enhance the development of novel therapeutic targets and biomarkers for individualized clinical management for lupus patients.