Mechanism controlling multiple sclerosis risk identified
[PRESS RELEASE 2018-06-19] While the DNA sequence remains the same throughout a person’s life, the expression of the encoded genes may change with time and contribute to disease development in genetically predisposed individuals. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have now discovered a new mechanism of a major risk gene for multiple sclerosis (MS) that triggers disease through so-called epigenetic regulation. They also found a protective genetic variant that reduces the risk for MS through the same mechanism. The study is published in Nature Communications.Multiple sclerosis is