Upsetting a Delicate Balance: One gene may underlie various immune diseases
By Nathan Seppa
One form of an immune-system gene shows up more frequently in people with three different diseases than in people free of those illnesses, a new study shows. The findings suggest that this subtle genetic difference plays a role in two thyroid diseases and diabetes.
The gene in question encodes a protein that normally moderates the aggressiveness of immune cells called T cells against an invading pathogen. In an autoimmune disease, such as the two thyroid diseases and diabetes, a person’s immune system attacks the body’s own tissues.