Relatives of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus - antinuclear antibodies, immunological profile and risk of developing the disease

Abstract

. Systemic lupus erythematosus is a systemic autoimmune disease that begins years before its clinical onset with the appearance of antinuclear antibodies and immunological signs of dysregulation in the serum. At the same time, due to the tendency towards familial aggregation, the risk of developing the disease in the relatives of the patients is tens of times higher. In multiple studies, relatives of patients have high titers of antinuclear antibodies significantly more often than the general population, and a combination of increased pro-inflammatory and decreased regulatory cytokines may be predictive of at-risk individuals who should be protected from risk factors or even take prophylactic medication. This literature review offers a summary of current literature on the subject.