Researchers have identified a key gene that plays a role in the
autoimmune disease Lupus.
The culprit is a defective version of a gene called
OX40L that is important to several different types of
immune system cell.
It affects lymphocytes, white blood cells which are
one of the body's main defenders against infection.
Lupus, or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE),
afflicts around 50,000 people in the UK, mostly women.
It causes a skin rash, joint pains and fatigue, and
can lead to serious inflammation of the kidneys and
other internal organs. People with Lupus are five times
more likely to die early than members of the general
population.
The gene variant is carried by one in six people in
the UK. Having one copy of the Lupus gene raises the
risk of developing the disease by 50%.
Professor Tim Vyse, from Imperial College London, who
led the research funded by the Wellcome Trust, said:
"Although it appears to have a number of environmental
triggers, we are now beginning to get a clearer picture
of the role that genetics also plays in the disease.
"Identifying a specific gene will enable us to see at
a molecular level what is behind Lupus and develop
treatments targeted at inhibiting or blocking the action
of those genes."
The findings are published in the journal Nature
Genetics.
Prof Vyse's group and other scientists have
previously identified two other genes implicated in
Lupus, IRFS and FCGR3B.
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