From the ArcaMax Publishing, Science & Technology Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/technology/s-570583-607295
BALTIMORE (UPI) -- U.S. scientists say a gene previously identified as
causing gout can lead to high concentrations of blood urate that forms
crystals in joint tissues.
Johns Hopkins University researchers were part of an international
team that surveyed the genomes of 12,000 individuals to find the
genetic cause for gout. Now the Johns Hopkins scientists have shown
the malfunctioning gene, ABCG2, can lead to high concentrations of
blood urate that causes joint inflammation and pain -- the hallmark of
the disease.
The researchers said they've discovered the ABCG2 gene makes a protein
that normally transports urate from the kidney and into urine before
the waste product does any harm. But in studies using frog egg cells
genetically engineered with human DNA, the Hopkins researchers
established the specific role of the ABCG2 gene as a cause of gout.
The scientists said their finding lends credence to suspicions that
metabolic deficiencies, along with too much rich food and alcohol, are
mostly to blame for the painful type of arthritis that affects 3
million Americans. The gene, they believe, may be responsible for some
10 percent of gout in Caucasians.
A report on the new research appeared in the June 8 early online
edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.