Immunological responses in patients with Behcet's disease: advances in understanding

Behcet's disease (BD) is an inflammatory, multisystemic disease possibly induced by susceptible microbiological pathogens. BD is attributed to genetic and environmental factors that cumulatively elicit the dysfunction of T and B lymphocytes and dendritic cells. Immunological responses in BD were investigated in most of the inflammatory sites and have relied upon the classic paradigm of distinct innate and adaptive parts of the immune system. However, recent advances in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases suggest that this division may be overly simplistic, with emerging evidence of a breakdown in conventional hallmarks of each system. Molecular markers revealing polymorphisms at the DNA level, Treg and Th17 cells permitted an increasing understanding in the knowledge of the disease. This review will focus on the immune mechanisms and give an overview of the major new immunological hypothesis and the role of the main cellular populations that drive the immune responses in BD.