It was a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup moment in genetic evolution: The end of one gene fused to the beginning of another and, voilร , a new, composite gene was born. In most people the two-component gene does not work. But in a small percentage the gene functions and puts its possessors at increased risk for lupus and potentially other autoimmune diseases, in which the immune system attacks the bodyโs own tissues, says a team of researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
If the Birmingham researchers are right, the gene could be a clue to improving therapy for autoimmune diseases.ย At least one prominent researcher has roundly criticized the putative lupus link, however.
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