WASHINGTON: A new study suggested that inherited immune and metabolism disorders are more similar than previously believed. The results provide fresh information that may help patients with these illnesses receive better care by highlighting a novel collection of metabolic genes that are critical for immune system T cell activity . The findings of the study were published in the journal Science Immunology.
The study looked at the genes that lead to inborn errors of immunity, which are illnesses that impact immune system function, and inborn errors of metabolism, which are diseases of the mechanisms cells employ to transform food into energy. We don't fully understand these uncommon and complicated disorders. "There had previously been only a small number of genes that were on both lists of diseases, but we found that many more have overlap," said Andrew Patterson, PhD, who led the study as a postdoctoral fellow working with Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
"Our study showed that a large number of genes associated with inborn errors of metabolism can also potentially affect T cell function when they are mutated." The findings suggest that patients with an inborn error of metabolism may also have immune defects that could impact their care, and conversely that metabolic defects may contribute to symptoms in patients with inborn errors of immunity. "There's a lot more that will have to be learned, but these connections might point to different ther.