Human immune system associated with gene variants

According to a team of international researchers, there are a lot of diseases that can be inherited but genes play a significant role in immune response as well. This study is published in Cell.

“We know that certain diseases run in families. From this study, we wanted to know the extent to which relative immune resistance or susceptibility to disease is inherited in families” said David Schlessinger, Ph.D., chief of NIA`s Laboratory of Genetics. “If your mother is rarely sick, for example, does that mean you don`t have to worry about the bug that`s going around? Is immunity in the genes? According to our findings, the answer is yes, at least in part”.

 The team of researchers is led by Francesca Cucca, M.D., director of the National Research Council`s Institute of Genetic and Biomedical Research in Italy and discovered that particular genes are responsible for the development of numerous autoimmune disorders, such as celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis or ulcerative colitis

 “We have learned that in case after case, findings in Sardinia have been applicable worldwide”. The group of researchers considers that understanding how genes work is important for future treatment of autoimmune diseases.