New studies are strengthening the scientific understanding of why some people are more sensitive to allergies than others. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine discovered how genetic variations that alter a particular protein called ETS1 can affect our body’s response to allergens.
They found that in an animal model, even a slight change in ETS1 could increase the likelihood of allergic reactions resulting in inflammation. The results were reported in Immunity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, allergies are the sixth most common cause of chronic disease in the United States, costing the country more than US$18 billion annually.
It is still unknown how our DNA may alter our chances of acquiring allergies, despite the fact that prior research has demonstrated a strong genetic basis for allergies and discovered specific genetic sequence differences that may be associated with these chronic conditions. cause diseases.
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But understanding it could lead to better research and perhaps even brand new drugs. Using modern genomics and imaging techniques, a collaborative team of researchers co-led by Penn’s Golnaz Wahedi, PhD, an associate professor of genetics, and Jorge Henao-Mejia, MD, PhD, an associate professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, found that the ETS1 protein plays a role in controlling a type of immune cell called CD4+ T helper cells, which are important in allergic reactions and help modulate the immune response by activating and coordinating other immune cells.
DNA interactions within the genomic segment that contains the ETS1 gene control how much ETS1 protein is made. “We found that these interactions act like a dimmer switch,” Wahedi said. “When there are changes to the DNA in this region, it can mess up the dimer switch, causing problems controlling the ETS1 protein. This can lead to an imbalance in our immune cells and allergic inflammation.” ”
Although progress has been made in understanding genetic traits that follow predictable patterns, such as traits that are passed down from parents, it has been more challenging to understand conditions that involve many different genes and are common in populations. Are. These complex conditions cannot be explained simply by “turning off” a single gene.
Instead, they may be caused by small changes in DNA that affect how genes work together. However, researchers still do not know much about how these changes in DNA are related to how our genes are organized or how they affect gene expression in the most complex diseases.
“This work shows how small differences in our DNA can throw off the balance between our immune cells, resulting in significant symptoms in patients,” said Henao-Mejia. This phenomenon may also occur in other common diseases such as autoimmune disorders. Might.”