Psoriatic arthritis: genetics and pathogenesis

Psoriatic arthritis is a complex disease affecting primarily peripheral and axial joints and entheses together with the skin. The pathogenesis is characterized by a genetic background and by inflammatory mechanisms which may be triggered by environmental factors. Several susceptibility genes have been investigated; they include HLA genes, genes within the HLA region and genes outside the HLA region. T cells, including the recently described subset Th17, are thought to play an important role in the acute and chronic phases of the disease. Some of these findings allowed novel therapeutic interventions or opened new promising approaches in treatment. The most relevant data of the literature are summarized and discussed.