Rogue cells at root cause of autoimmune disease

This is pretty exciting:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200213135800.htm

Summary: Breakthrough cellular genomics technology has allowed researchers to reveal genetic mutations causing rogue behavior in the cells that cause autoimmune disease. ... They also uncovered how these cells 'go rogue' by evading checkpoints that normally stop immune cells from targeting the body's own tissues.

"We have developed a technique that allows us to look directly at the cells that cause autoimmune disease -- it's as though we're looking through a new microscope lens for the first time, learning more about autoimmune disease than was ever possible before."

The evolution of autoimmune disease

Through their analysis, the researchers discovered that the disease-causing immune cells of the vasculitis patients had accumulated a number of mutations before they produced the damaging rheumatoid factors.

"We identified step-wise genetic changes in the cells at the root of an autoimmune disease for the first time, tracing an 'evolutionary tree' of how normal immune cells develop into disease-causing cells," says co-senior author Dr Joanne Reed, who heads the Rheumatology and Autoimmunity Group at the Garvan Institute.

Remarkably, the researchers found that some of the first gene mutations that occurred in these rogue cells were known to drive lymphomas (cancerous immune cells).

"We uncovered 'lymphoma driver mutations', including a variant of the CARD11 gene, which allowed the rogue immune cells to evade immune tolerance checkpoints and multiply unchecked," explains Professor Goodnow, who first hypothesised that disease-causing autoimmune cells employ this cancer tactic in 2007.

Hopefully these mutated genes don't get passed down to your offspring. I guess it depends on if the mutations get into the sex cells, and they shouldn't unless your parents already had those mutations and passed them to you.

Quincy I have to plead ignorance on the subject but I was not aware that scientists had any idea what types of cells were at the root of autoimmune disease. Just a year back one doctor was blaming MAP for rheumatoid arthritis. The ability to see the cells mutate seems cool to me but I'm easily impressed.

Charlie...i remember a program "Ghosts in Your Genes" from maybe 10 years ago. It was helpful in explaining some of the stuff at that time.
Plus we don't know what's in our genes from waaaay waaaaay back.

MAP may trigger something into process in some people.
I think for most people, an initial infection goes untreated or is treated and it improves and is over... but maybe traces of its effects linger, and a cascade of changes happen over time.
Like those huge holes that swallow houses...can't say everything was normal until that moment.
My 3 cents.

q