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Familial autoimmunity: maternal parent-of-origin effect in juvenile idiopathic arthritis

Andrew Zeft1, Edith S Shear, Susan D Thompson

  • 1Division of Immunology and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84158-1289, USA.

Clinical Rheumatology
|November 13, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) shows increased autoimmune disease prevalence in maternal relatives. This suggests a potential maternal parent-of-origin effect in JIA development.

Area of Science:

  • Rheumatology
  • Genetics
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a chronic autoimmune disease in children.
  • Children with JIA and their relatives exhibit a higher prevalence of other autoimmune diseases.
  • The genetic or environmental factors contributing to JIA risk require further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate differences in autoimmune disease prevalence between maternal and paternal relatives of children with JIA.
  • To explore potential parent-of-origin effects in the inheritance of JIA susceptibility.

Main Methods:

  • Structured interviews were conducted with families of children diagnosed with JIA (simplex and multiplex) and control families.
  • Data collected included the prevalence of autoimmune diseases among first- and second-degree maternal and paternal relatives.
  • Statistical analysis compared autoimmune disease prevalence between relatives of JIA cases and controls, and between maternal and paternal lineages.

Main Results:

  • Autoimmune diseases were significantly more prevalent in maternal second-degree relatives of JIA cases compared to controls (14% vs. 4.3%).
  • Mothers of JIA cases had a threefold higher prevalence of autoimmune diseases than fathers (32.3% vs. 11.4%).
  • Overall autoimmune disease prevalence was higher in maternal second-degree relatives than paternal second-degree relatives of JIA children (14% vs. 7.9%).

Conclusions:

  • Maternal relatives of children with JIA demonstrate an increased prevalence of autoimmune diseases compared to paternal relatives.
  • These findings suggest a potential maternal parent-of-origin effect influencing JIA susceptibility.
  • Further research is warranted to elucidate the specific mechanisms underlying this maternal transmission pattern.

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