Atg16L1 are also connected with Crohn’s disease
....The altered gene also was associated with changes in the immune system. In the modified mice, E. coli infections in the urinary tract led cells to produce more inflammatory immune factors and prompted additional bacteria-fighting immune cells to come to the site of the infection.
“The immune system appears to be primed to attack at the slightest provocation in the mice with mutations,” Mysorekar says. “This may be why mutations in Atg16L1 are also connected with Crohn’s disease, which involves immune cells erroneously attacking beneficial microorganisms in the gut.”
Mutations in Atg16L1 are quite common, according to Virgin, although not everyone who has a mutated form of the gene will get Crohn’s disease.
“These new results may help explain why the mutations have persisted for so long in the general population,” he says. “They don’t just put the carrier at risk of Crohn’s disease, they also may have a protective effect that helps fight infections.”....
http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/23982.aspx
....The altered gene also was associated with changes in the immune system. In the modified mice, E. coli infections in the urinary tract led cells to produce more inflammatory immune factors and prompted additional bacteria-fighting immune cells to come to the site of the infection.
“The immune system appears to be primed to attack at the slightest provocation in the mice with mutations,” Mysorekar says. “This may be why mutations in Atg16L1 are also connected with Crohn’s disease, which involves immune cells erroneously attacking beneficial microorganisms in the gut.”
Mutations in Atg16L1 are quite common, according to Virgin, although not everyone who has a mutated form of the gene will get Crohn’s disease.
“These new results may help explain why the mutations have persisted for so long in the general population,” he says. “They don’t just put the carrier at risk of Crohn’s disease, they also may have a protective effect that helps fight infections.”....
http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/23982.aspx