Researchers Identify Roles Of Gene Mutations Causing Lupus In Mice

Source: UT Southwestern Medical Center
Posted: June 15, 2006

Summary:

In two related studies, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have pinpointed defective genes in mice responsible for triggering the mysterious autoimmune disease lupus, which prompts the body's immune system to mistakenly attack healthy organs and tissues. A research team found that a defect in a gene causes immune cells called B-cells to attack the body's healthy cells, resulting in systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE. Their findings are published in today's issue of the journal Science.

In a separate lupus study published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, another team of UT Southwestern researchers describe the role of a mutated gene. The gene interacts with the aforementioned defective gene in triggering the mechanisms leading to a deadly form of lupus in mice by causing another component of the immune system to malfunction. Researchers believe that both studies could produce promising targets for the development of specific drugs to treat or prevent human lupus.

Commentary: Hopefully these studies will be successfully translated in to drugs and therapies that will be effective in treating lupus in humans. Also, if the gene can stop the destruction of the human immune system, stem cell treatments maybe able to restore normal immune function in lupus patients.