When The Body Attacks Itself

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.

And these are the 30 genes, the ones that—aren't following the proper directions. So you think this dysfunction is the basis not just for one disorder, but a whole host of autoimmune diseases?

Marson: Yes, regulatory T cells appear to be key in preventing type 1 diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as autoimmune thyroid disorders. Dysregulation of the genes controlling those cells could contribute to a wide range of autoimmune conditions.

That's a huge number of people-the pharmaceutical industry must be very excited about this discovery.