AIRE and systemic lupus erythematosus: Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the AIRE gene have been identified and reported to be associated with several autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [13,14,15], systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) [16,17], autoimmune thyroiditis, and systemic sclerosis [18], as well as myasthenia gravis [19], vitiligo [20], type 1 diabetes mellitus [21], and autoimmune hepatitis [22].