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Genes in rheumatoid arthritis
September 18, 2007A paper published this week in the open access journal PLoS Medicine provides strong evidence that one specific part of the genome is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Rene Toes and colleagues from Leiden University Medical Center, the Karolinska Institute, and Celera studied four groups of patients and matched controls. They found a consistent association with one specific region of the genome -- a region on chromosome 9 that includes the two genes, complement component 5 (C5) of the complement system (a primitive system within the body that is involved in the defense against foreign molecules) and a gene involved in the inflammatory response, TNF receptor-associated factor 1(TRAF1) .
Rheumatoid arthritis is a very common chronic illness that affects around 1% of people in developed countries. It is caused by an abnormal immune reaction to various tissues within the body. As well as affecting joints and causing an inflammatory arthritis, it can also affect many other organs of the body. An association has been shown previously in humans with the part of the genome that contains the human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), which are involved in the immune response. In addition, previous work in mice that have a disease similar to human rheumatoid arthritis has identified a number of possible candidate genes including C5.
The researchers took 40 genetic markers, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), from across the region that included the C5 and TRAF1 genes. They compared which of the alternate forms of the SNPs were present in 290 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 254 unaffected participants of Dutch origin. They then repeated the study in three other groups of patients and controls of Dutch, Swedish, and US origin. They found a consistent association with rheumatoid arthritis of one region of 65 kilobases that included one end of the C5 gene as well as the TRAF1 gene and then refined the area of interest to a piece marked by one particular SNP that lay between the genes. They went on to show that the genetic region in which these genes are located may be involved in the binding of a protein that modifies the transcription of genes. Furthermore, they showed that one of the alternate versions of the marker in this region was associated with more aggressive disease.
This study adds to accumulating evidence that this region of the genome is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The next steps will be to identify the precise genetic change involved.
Public Library of Science
This study adds to accumulating evidence that this region of the genome is associated with rheumatoid arthritis. The next steps will be to identify the precise genetic change involved.
Public Library of Science
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Bone marrow stem cells may help control inflammatory bowel disease
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators have found that infusions of a particular bone marrow stem cell appeared to protect gastrointestinal tissue from autoimmune attack in a mouse model.
Researchers discover how rheumatoid arthritis causes bone loss
Researchers have discovered key details of how rheumatoid arthritis (RA) destroys bone, according to a study published in the Aug. 22 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Protein complementarity may offer new insights into autoimmune diseases
The discovery of "complementary" antibodies against plasminogen in patients with blood vessel inflammation caused by anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (ANCAs) may lead to new approaches to research, testing, and treatment of ANCA vasculitis and other autoimmune diseases, suggests a paper in the December Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
New Guidelines for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
Proven combinations of medicines and the introduction of new anti-arthritis drugs have significantly improved the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to guidelines issued by the American College of Rheumatology and co-authored by physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Once suspect protein found to promote DNA repair, prevent cancer
An abundant chromosomal protein that binds to damaged DNA prevents cancer development by enhancing DNA repair, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science.
Pediatric researchers find possible 'master switch' gene in juvenile arthritis
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Small protein may have big role in making more bone and less fat
A small protein may have a big role in helping you make more bone and less fat, researchers say.
Complexity of Crohn's disease revealed as 'gene' count tops 30
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