Geneticists have identified a link between the number of copies of a specific gene an individual has and their susceptibility to autoimmune diseases like lupus.
Research using DNA has revealed that people who have a below average number of copies of a gene, known as FCGR3B, have an increased risk of developing diseases caused when the body’s immune system attacks its own tissue.
The research by Professor Tim Aitman of the Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre at Imperial College London, and colleagues, is published in Nature Genetics.
Professor Aitman explains the team’s research discovery:
"The variations in DNA that people carry contribute to observable characteristics like height, weight and skin colour. Genetic variations have similar effects on individual susceptibility to disease. In this research our team focused on structural differences in the genome and set out to determine whether the number of copies of a particular gene a person has influences their chances of developing an autoimmune disease. We discovered that not only does the number of copies of a gene you have influence your chances of disease but that this kind of structural variation in the genome could be driving evolution of human weaknesses for infection and inflammation."