The human thymus is given the difficult task of teaching T-cells which antigens are 'foreign' and which are 'self', a process which seems to go wrong in autoimmune disorders. A study of variation in the promoter of one gene expressed in thymus shows that one nucleotide change can disrupt gene regulation, and might lead to increased risk for autoimmune disease.
- Matthieu Giraud
- Richard Taubert
- Henri-Jean Garchon