Yesterday researchers announced that they have identified seven
gene regions linked to causing coeliac disease. Also the
research found that four of these gene regions are responsible
for a predisposition to Type 1 diabetes (the type which occurs
from birth), indicating that these discoveries may have broad
implications for a range of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.
Previous studies identified a genetic region on chromosome four
associated with coeliac disease. In this study, the same
research group identified seven new genetic regions associated
with an increased risk of coeliac disease. They compared genetic
markers in people with and without coeliac disease and then
assessed about 1,000 of the strongest markers in a further 5,000
samples. The results, published in Nature Genetics (Hunt, K.
Nature Genetics, March 2, 2008), identified seven new genetic
risk regions associated with celiac disease. Of those seven
mutations, six involve genes that control immune responses (four
of these, presumably, being