Papers of the Week

Haploinsufficiency of A20 (HA20) is a novel genetic disease presented by Zhou et al in 2016. A20 is a protein encoded by TNFAIP3. Loss-of-function mutation in TNFAIP3 will trigger a new autoinflammatory disease: HA20. HA20-affected patients may develop a wide range of clinical manifestations, such as Behcet disease, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatic fever, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus. HA20 is rarely reported, thus remaining far from thoroughly understood. Sixty-one cases of HA20 have been reported worldwide, among which 29 cases were diagnosed with Behcet disease ultimately. Moreover, 3 cases have been reported in China, which was the first report of HA20 characterized by Behcet disease. A comprehensive understanding of the pathogenic genes of HA20 could help us apply targeted therapy as soon as possible to improve patients' survival rates.