‘In a paper published Thursday in the journal Cell, researchers present new evidence that a molecule called Xist — pronounced like the word “exist” and found only in women — is a major culprit in these diseases.
Better understanding of this molecule could lead to new tests that catch autoimmune diseases sooner and, in the longer term, to new and more effective treatments, researchers said.
Women typically have two X chromosomes, while men usually have an X and a Y. Chromosomes are tight bundles of genetic material that carry instructions for making proteins. Xist plays a crucial role by inactivating one of the X chromosomes in women, averting what would otherwise be a disastrous overproduction of proteins.
However, the research team found that, in the process, Xist also generates strange molecular complexes linked to many autoimmune diseases.
Although scientists conducted much of their work in mice, they made an intriguing discovery involving human patients: The Xist complexes ― long strands of RNA entangled with DNA and proteins ― trigger a chemical response in people that is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases…’ ( via Washington Post )
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