通过定位克隆确定地中海热应答基因并映射至染色体 16p13.3(目前发现的突变中超过 80% 位于该区域)。[16]The International FMF Consortium. Ancient missense mutations in a new member of the RoRet gene family are likely to cause familial Mediterranean fever. Cell. 1997;90:787-807.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9288758?tool=bestpractice.com[17]French FMF Consortium. A candidate gene for familial Mediterranean fever. Nat Genet. 1997;17:25-31.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9288094?tool=bestpractice.com M694V 纯合突变患者有早期严重疾病、高烧、脾肿大及丹毒样红斑、急性单关节炎、长期肌痛综合征,而且更可能发展为肾淀粉样变性。[19]Brik R, Litmanovich D, Berkowitz D, et al. Incidence of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) mutations among children of Mediterranean extraction with functional abdominal pain. J Pediatr. 2001;138:759-762.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11343058?tool=bestpractice.com[45]Kone Paut I, Dubuc M, Sportouch J, et al. Phenotype-genotype correlation in 91 patients with familial Mediterranean fever reveals a high frequency of cutaneomucous features. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2000;39:1275-1279.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11085810?tool=bestpractice.com[46]Dewalle M, Domingo C, Rozenbaum M, et al. Phenotype-genotype correlation in Jewish patients suffering from familial Mediterranean fever. Eur J Hum Genet. 1998;6:95-97.http://www.nature.com/ejhg/journal/v6/n1/pdf/5200170a.pdfhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9781020?tool=bestpractice.com[47]Grateau G. The relation between familial Mediterranean fever and amyloidosis. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2000;12:61-64.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10647956?tool=bestpractice.com[48]Sidi G, Shinar Y, Livneh A, et al. Protracted febrile myalgia of familial Mediterranean fever: mutation analysis and clinical correlations. Scand J Rheumatol. 2000;29:174-176.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10898070?tool=bestpractice.com
临床诊断 FMF 时,不同等位基因上存在 2 个突变(纯合性或复合杂合性)即可确诊。[49]Grateau G, Pêcheux C, Cazeneuve C, et al. Clinical versus genetic diagnosis of familial Mediterranean fever. QJM. 2000;93:223-229.http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/content/93/4/223.longhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10787450?tool=bestpractice.com仅存在 1 个突变时,无法确诊;然而,若出现典型临床症状,则不应排除诊断,因确实存在一些罕见或未知的突变。The registry of hereditary auto-inflammatory disorders mutations那些相同的真杂合子可能会显示 FMF 的完整临床表现。像许多隐性疾病一样,一些杂合子患者也可能具有较少的临床体征。不完全症状更常见于杂合患者,且杂合性可能是各种其他炎症性疾病(如克罗恩病、白塞病或多发性硬化症)的一个危险因素。[50]Ozen S, Bakkaloglu A, Yilmaz E, et al. Mutations in the gene for familial Mediterranean fever: do they predispose to inflammation? J Rheumatol. 2003;30:2014-2018.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12966608?tool=bestpractice.com[51]Lachmann HJ, Sengül B, Yavuzşen TU, et al. Clinical and subclinical inflammation in patients with familial Mediterranean fever and in heterozygous carriers of MEFV mutations. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2006;45:746-750.http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/content/45/6/746.longhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16403826?tool=bestpractice.com[52]Ozen S. Changing concepts in familial Mediterranean fever: is it possible to have an autosomal-recessive disease with only one mutation? Arthritis Rheum. 2009;60:1575-1577.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/art.24565/fullhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19479854?tool=bestpractice.com累及 pyrin 的其他基因突变的遗传以及炎症也可能引发症状。