Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Ch, De Beriotstraat 32, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. dimitry.chistiakov@eudoramail.com.
Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is an organ-specific T-cell mediated disease. It is a complex disease, with a strong genetic component. To date, significant progress has been made towards the identification and functional characterization of HT susceptibility genes. In this review, we will summarize the recent advances in our understanding of the genetic input to the pathogenesis of HT.