Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disorder that is characterized by excess deposition of connective tissue in the skin, lungs, kidneys and vessels, resulting in lung, heart and kidney dysfunction. In a new study, researchers from the University of Tsukuba revealed that patients with long stretches of repeat DNA sequences, also called microsatellite repeat polymorphism, in the gene for Friend leukemia integration 1 transcription factor (FLI1) are more likely to develop systemic sclerosis.