Source Multiple Sclerosis News Today: A new large-scale genetic map implicates broad immune system dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), suggests a key role of brain immune cells called microglia, and indicates an MS-related gene variant located in the X chromosome.
Altogether, the findings — the result of the largest reported study of MS to date — provide the basis for up to 48% of the heritability for this disease.
The study, “Multiple sclerosis genomic map implicates peripheral immune cells and microglia in susceptibility,” was published in the journal Science.
Earlier genetic studies have implicated several immune T-cell subsets in a person’s susceptibility for developing MS. But other elements of the immune system have since been linked with this disease. Aiming to better understand the risk for MS, a team within the International Multiple Sclerosis Genetic Consortium (IMSGC) assessed the genetic profile of 47,429 MS patients and 68,374 healthy individuals. Read on.