Autoimmune inflammation, such as in rheumatoid arthritis, is characterized by activated Th1 cells without sufficient Th2 differentiation that might downmodulate the chronic immune response. Delineation of the mechanisms that control T-cell differentiation is therefore of major importance for the understanding of the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The transcription factor GATA-3 has been implicated in regulating Th2 cell differentiation in murine T cells in vitro, but its role in vivo and, in particular, in human T-cell differentiation is currently unknown. To dissect the role of GATA-3 in human T-cell differentiation and T-cell-mediated effector functions, we used the unique opportuni…

On the basis of their biological function, potential genetic candidates for susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis can be postulated. IFNGR1, encoding the ligand-binding chain of the receptor for interferon gamma, IFNγR1, is one such gene because interferon gamma is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. In the coding sequence of IFNGR1, two nucleotide positions have been described to be polymorphic in the Japanese population. We therefore investigated the association of those two IFNGR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis in a case-control study in a central European population. Surprisingly, however, neither position was polymorphic in the 364 individuals exami…