Rare variants in gene coding may up risk of autoimmune disorders
Thursday, July 1, 2010 - 11:14
in Health & Medicine
(PhysOrg.com) -- Rare variants in the gene coding of an enzyme that controls the activity of a key immune cell occur more often in people with autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital found in a multi-institutional study. The researchers' report, published in the journal Nature, identifies a pathway that could be a therapeutic target and may present a model for future studies of the role of rare gene variants in common disorders.