Host DNA can trigger inflammation, UCalgary study finds

By Laurie Wang
Posted February 26, 2008

A new study at the University of Calgary reveals how the immune system triggers inflammation. Published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, the research aims to enhance treatments for people with lupus, kidney failure, heart disease, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

"These findings are a huge step forward in basic research into inflammation," says Dr. Daniel Muruve, associate professor of medicine, University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine.

Muruve, a kidney specialist with the Calgary Health Region, along with collaborators at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, have discovered a pathway in the cell that recognizes host DNA. When the DNA activates this pathway, inflammation occurs.

This research began as an exploration into how the immune system responds to the common cold virus. Muruve's team introduced the virus into the cell and observed that the viral DNA triggered inflammation. That discovery prompted the team to investigate whether the cell's own DNA would have the same effect.

"We found that it did," says Muruve. "The immune system detects the DNA as a distress signal and then triggers inflammation."

Published online this week in the international journal Nature, the UCalgary study is the first to prove that there is a pathway that can detect the cell's own DNA. Previous scientific studies have identified pathways sensing foreign DNA - that of bacteria and viruses.

This research raises the possibility that lupus, a disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissues, might involve a malfunction of the body's own DNA. These findings are also expected to help researchers find ways to limit the inflammatory response in kidney disease, stroke, heart disease and IBD.

Read the article online.

About the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary

The U of C's Faculty of Medicine is a national leader in health research with an international reputation for excellence and innovation in health care research, education and delivery. Through its educational programs, the Faculty of Medicine trains the physicians and scientists who will lead the next generation of health practitioners. Through its clinical work, continuing medical education programs, and close relationship with the Calgary Health Region, the Faculty of Medicine moves new treatments and diagnostic techniques from the laboratory bench to the hospital bedside efficiently and effectively, improving patient care.

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