THE ESSENTIAL
- People with rheumatoid arthritis often develop osteoporosis.
- A study identified two genes linked to these two pathologies.
- According to the researchers, this discovery could pave the way for the development of new treatments and diagnostic tools.
People who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory joint disease, are at greater risk of developing osteoporosis. Researchers therefore decided to study these two skeletal pathologies together. Focusing on studying excessive apoptosis (programmed cell death) present in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, they discovered that two genes were linked to these health disorders.
Their findings were detailed in the journal APL Bioengineering.
Osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis: 2 key genes linked to the diseases
Due to the central role of apoptosis in both pathologies, researchers set out to find the genes involved in this process. They used dozens of sequenced genomes from people with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis collected during previous research.
Researchers used analysis tools and machine learning algorithms to sift through these mountains of genetic data. They thus identified two key genes – ATXN2L and MMP14 – which play an important role in both diseases.
In detail, ATXN2L participates in the regulation of processes such as apoptosis. Thus its dysfunctions are likely to trigger both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. MMP14 contributes to the construction of extracellular tissue such as cartilage and could be responsible for the degradation of joint tissue which leads to rheumatoid arthritis, the scientists specify in their press release.
Genes: new targets for treatment
“Our analysis revealed that these genes are involved in immune regulation and bone metabolism, suggesting that they could be useful markers for diagnosing or treating both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis.”explains author Hao-Ju Lo.
The scientist and his team suggest that these genes could be used to develop new treatment or diagnostic options for patients suffering from these two pathologies. “We plan to validate these results with experimental studies and explore how targeting these genes could improve treatment outcomes”adds the specialist.
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