Lupus strikes far more women than men. Now there’s a clue why
Women are more likely to develop autoimmune diseases than men and new research from Stanford University suggests that this could be due to how the female body handles an extra X chromosome. The research, published in the journal Cell, indicates that a type of RNA called Xist, which helps to inactivate one of the two X chromosomes present in female cells, could play a role in activating the immune system. The study also found that autoantibodies can mistakenly attack normal proteins associated with Xist. However, more research is needed to fully understand the mechanism and potential implications on early diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
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