Genetic factors and systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare connective tissue disease of unknown etiology characterized by chronic inflammation and fibrosis of the skin, vascular abnormalities, and variable involvement of organs including kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, heart, and lungs. SSc shows a complex etiology in which both environmental and genetic factors seem to influence the onset and outcome of the disease. We provide an extensive overview of the genetic factors and epigenetic modifications and what their knowledge has revealed in terms of etiopathogenesis of SSc.