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Genetic differences in human affects cellular response to infections. Defense against microbial pathogens is carried out by white blood cells. White blood cells activate cellular defense programs and repressing the expression of hundreds of genes when they come across microbes.
Human immune system plays a central role in autoimmune inflammatory diseases, cancer, metabolism and aging. The researchers discovered hundreds of genes where the response to immune stimulus depended on the genetic variants possessed by the individual.
These genes demonstrate that genetic variation has an important role in how the human immune system works.
The study discovered genetic variants whose effects on gene regulation was different depending on the different infectious state of the cells.
Genetic disease risk is sometimes driven not by genetic variants causing constant cellular dysregulation, but by causing a failure to respond properly to environmental conditions such as infection.
Researchers analyzed how cells from different individuals respond to infection by measuring gene expression both during the early and late immune response.
Integrating the gene expression profiles with genome-wide genetic data of each individual, they were able to discovered how genetic variants affect gene expression and how this genetic effect changes with immune stimulus.
Diseases have both genetic and environmental risk factors.
The analyses of gene expression patterns provide comprehensive information about the immune responses and show wide variation among individuals exposed to different pathogens at different time.
The research identified population differences in immune response and demonstrated that immune response modifies genetic associations to disease.
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