[BriOnH]

Originally Posted by E-NICE

Genes Linked to Autoimmune Diseases - To Your Health - MSNBC.com

What exactly is wrong with the genes in these regulatory T cells? What are they doing that they shouldn't be doing?
Young: In autoimmune disorders, most of these genes are less active than they normally would be. What Alex and his colleagues discovered is that this turns the regulatory T cells' activities down, so they're not as aggressive or powerful as they normally would be. Now, it was only three years ago that scientists discovered the "brain" of the regulatory T cells, or the gene that tells them how to do their job. This is a gene called Foxp3.

So Foxp3 is the immune system's big boss, and the 30 genes you've found inside the regulatory T cells are the middle managers?
Young: Right. Until now, it was not known exactly how Foxp3 was giving these T cells directions—which genes it was controlling in order to do that.

That last paragraph really hit home. I hope we can learn to minipulate these genes. Faustman is doing it. I wonder if she is making any more progress.