Gene defect found to trigger lupus symptoms

Scientists in South Korea have identified a switch that controls the expansion of a subset of immune cells involved in the development of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Their findings are published in the journal Immunity.

In this study, a research team at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) and Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in South Korea investigated the Ets1 gene, one of the top four genes associated with SLE in Asian populations. The Ets1 gene is highly expressed in many subtypes of immune cells and is responsible for regulating the expression of other genes. For the full article please click here.