RUNX3 and T-Bet in Immunopathogenesis of Ankylosing Spondylitis-Novel Targets for Therapy?

Susceptibility to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is polygenic with more than 100 genes identified to date. These include and the aminopeptidases (, and ), which are involved in antigen processing and presentation to T-cells, and several genes (, and ) involved in IL23 driven pathways of inflammation. AS is also strongly associated with polymorphisms in two transcription factors, RUNX3 and T-bet (encoded by ), which are important in T-cell development and function. The influence of these genes on the pathogenesis of AS and their potential for identifying drug targets is discussed here.