AIRE and autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1: Autoimmune polyendocrinopathy-candidiasis-ectodermal dystrophy (APECED; also referred to as autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS1)) is a rare disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene; a less severe disease phenotype has been associated with dominant negative mutations in the same gene [1,2,3].