Figure 3.

Pathway biology: the impact of RA-associated allelic variants. Multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms may contribute to the disease-prone state through subtle modifications in antigen presentation ('single input') and T-cell antigen receptor responsiveness ('signal output'). It is proposed that these variants may influence multiple pathways of T-cell activation, differentiation, and effector function. DC, dendritic cell; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; TCR, T-cell receptor; T_eff, effector T cell; Th, T-helper cell.