Saturday, June 08, 2024

Unlocking a genetic link between autoimmunity and debilitating inflammations

Good news, but old news!

This popular science article is annoying for at least three typical reasons: 
  1. It does not contain a link to any original press release
  2. It does not contain any link to a research paper published in a journal
  3. The lazy author failed to inform the reader that this research was already published two years ago on bioRxiv!
"Researchers ... have discovered the gene, called Zeb2, that proliferates in autoimmunity diseases like the painful and debilitating inflammations of lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

Zeb2 controls the immune system’s Atypical B cells (ABC).

The discovery was made in a slightly off-beat way — by giving mice malaria. ...
Researchers compared the responses of mice to malaria, in strains of animals with and without the capacity to make ABCs in response to the infection.  The gene for ABC production was identified as ‘Zeb2’, and switched off in half the test mice using Crisper Cas9’s molecular scissors. ..."

Unlocking the link between autoimmunity and infection


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