Researchers Identify Gene Involved in Autoimmune
July 29, 2002, Acurian
Source: University of Virginia Health System
Researchers have identified a gene that appears to be a critical
factor in autoimmune disease, according to a study to be published in
the July 26, 2002, issue of Science. The research, performed by
scientists at the University of Virginia and the University of
Vermont Schools of Medicine and colleagues at other universities,
might provide a unique view at the molecular defects underlying
autoimmune disease.
Using molecular techniques to study the genetic material from
autoimmune disease-susceptible mice, scientists were able to identify
a region of the mouse chromosome, and subsequently a gene, that
correlates with autoimmune disease. The gene of interest encodes a
protein that functions as a receptor for histamine, a signaling
molecule involved in immune responses.
Autoimmune disease, a disorder that occurs when an affected
individual’s immune system launches attacks on its own tissue
confusing itself as a foreign invader, is responsible for various
disorders such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Present therapies for autoimmune disease, which merely suppress the
affected individual’s immune system, necessitate new and more
specific treatments, said Dr. Kenneth S. K. Tung, professor of
pathology at the University of Virginia and co-investigator of the
study.
“Utilizing a mouse model to study autoimmune disease will have a
definite impact on the understanding of human autoimmune disease as
genes that cause disease in mice have been found to be concordant
with autoimmune causing genes in humans,” Tung said. “The next
progression of this study will be to understand the role of the
histamine receptor in autoimmune disease and, more importantly, to
determine whether a parallel set of events occurs in human autoimmune
disease.”
The research presented in this study hopefully will prove significant
not only for the understanding of autoimmune disease but also for
other illnesses. “It’s becoming clear that the responses and
regulatory elements that cause autoimmune disease also apply to the
body’s response to cancer and tissue grafts. So if we can understand
how autoimmune disease is regulated, then you can apply the same
knowledge to prevent tissue graft rejection or promote cancer
immunity and improve vaccine effects,” Tung said.