The Gene That Can Transform Mild Influenza in to a Life Threatening Disease
A genetic finding could help to explain why influenza becomes a life-threatening disease for some people, and yet has only a mild effect on others. Collaborative research led by scientists at UCL and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute found that people who carry a particular variant of the IFITM3 gene are significantly more likely to be hospitalised when they fall ill with influenza than those who carry other variants.
The gene plays a critical role in protecting the body against infection with influenza and a rare version of it appears to make people more susceptible to severe forms of the disease. The results are published in the journal Nature. (more…)