'Fingerprint' Method Charts The Course of Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases!

Most autoimmune diseases are easy to diagnose, but difficult to treat. Garvan Institute researchers say we can quickly determine which treatments work in a person with autoimmune disease through an immune cell fingerprinting method.

The study, published in the journal Science, analyzed the genomic profile of more than one million cells out of 1,000 people using single cell sequencing, a new technology, to identify a fingerprint linking genetic markers to diseases such as MS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, spondylitis, IBD and Crohn's.

Some drugs can be very effective in only 15% of patients, so they are not recommended as primary care treatment. There is now a way to link the treatment response to an individual's immune genetics and potentially screen 15% of patients before administering the treatment.

The discovery can guide the development of new drugs, as well as offering treatments tailored to an individual's unique genetic profile.

#immunity #treatment #autoimmunediseases

Study Details: Yazar S, et al. Single-cell eQTL mapping identifies cell type–specific genetic control of autoimmune disease. Science, 2022; 376 (6589) http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf3041