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Gene mutations - possible link to meningitis
August 28, 2002Gene mutations may account for a third of all meningococcal meningitis in the UK scientists heard today (Thursday 19 September) at the Society for General Microbiology autumn meeting at Loughborough University.
"We have used family studies to calculate that differences in a person`s genetics account for at least one third of the risk of getting meningitis. The rest may depend on how aggressive the bacteria are, or whether a person already has effective antibodies," says Dr Hibberd of Imperial College School of Medicine, London.
"While looking for the genetic component, we found a mutation in a gene for Factor H (fH) in up to 60% of patients with meningococcal illness, compared to 43% in the rest of the population. We think that this mutation is an important part of the genetic contribution to meningococcal disease," says Dr Martin Hibberd.
Scientists have long thought that variation in immunity was important in susceptibility to meningitis. The bacterium that causes meningococcal meningitis can be found living harmlessly in the nose and throat of most people for at least some part of their lives. But the reason why it suddenly causes illness in only a small proportion of people - about 2000 each year in the UK - has been unclear until now.
Dr Hibberd explains, "Factor H is a protein that regulates part of the innate immune system, which is essential for killing and removing microbes from the body. It is especially crucial in young babies who have not developed antibody-based immunity. It seems that this particular mutation in fH - the so-called C/C genotype - suppresses the innate immune system making people with the C/C genotype more likely to be affected by meningitis," says Dr Hibberd.
"Long-term, this research could lead to improved treatments, perhaps by copying nature and applying what we know about successful immune responses," says Dr Hibberd.
Society for General Microbiology
Scientists have long thought that variation in immunity was important in susceptibility to meningitis. The bacterium that causes meningococcal meningitis can be found living harmlessly in the nose and throat of most people for at least some part of their lives. But the reason why it suddenly causes illness in only a small proportion of people - about 2000 each year in the UK - has been unclear until now.
Dr Hibberd explains, "Factor H is a protein that regulates part of the innate immune system, which is essential for killing and removing microbes from the body. It is especially crucial in young babies who have not developed antibody-based immunity. It seems that this particular mutation in fH - the so-called C/C genotype - suppresses the innate immune system making people with the C/C genotype more likely to be affected by meningitis," says Dr Hibberd.
"Long-term, this research could lead to improved treatments, perhaps by copying nature and applying what we know about successful immune responses," says Dr Hibberd.
Society for General Microbiology
Immune System Current Events and Immune System News RSSSurface bacteria maintain skin's healthy balance
On the skin's surface, bacteria are abundant, diverse and constant, but inflammation is undesirable. Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine now shows that the normal bacteria living on the skin surface trigger a pathway that prevents excessive inflammation after injury.
Gene mismatch influences success of bone marrow transplants
A commonly inherited gene deletion can increase the likelihood of immune complications following bone marrow transplantation, an international team of researchers reports in the November 22 advance online issue of Nature Genetics.
Measuring and modeling blood flow in malaria
When people have malaria, they are infected with Plasmodium parasites, which enter the body from the saliva of a mosquito, infect cells in the liver, and then spread to red blood cells.
New cancer target for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
Physician-scientists from Weill Cornell Medical College have discovered a molecular mechanism that may prove to be a powerful target for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects lymphocytes, or white blood cells.
First reconstitution of an epidermis from human embryonic stem cells
Stem cell research is making great strides. This is yet again illustrated by a study carried out by the I-STEM* Institute (I-STEM/ Inserm UEVE U861/AFM), published in the Lancet on 21 November 2009. The I-STEM team, directed by Marc Peschanski has just succeeded in recreating a whole epidermis from human embryonic stem cells.
New findings suggest strategy to help generate HIV-neutralizing antibodies
New discoveries about anti-HIV antibodies may bring researchers a step closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine, according to a new paper co-authored by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
UAB Researchers Discover Antibody Receptor Identity, Propose Renaming Immune-System Gene
Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders.
New culprit for viral infections among elderly -- an overactive immune response
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people.
Women at risk from vitamin A deficiency
Almost half of UK women could be suffering from a lack of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found.
Immune system activated in schizophrenia
Researchers at the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet have discovered that patients with recent-onset schizophrenia have higher levels of inflammatory substances in their brains. Their findings offer hope of being able to treat schizophrenia with drugs that affect the immune system.
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