Nat Immunol: New discovery! Salt or one of the factors that induce multiple sclerosis

Recently, an article was published in a magazineNature ImmunologyIn the research report titled "Activated β - catenin in Foxp3+regulatory T cell links inflammatory environments to autoimmunity", scientists from Yale University found that a high salt environment may be one of the causes of multiple sclerosis (MS).

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In the article, researchers elucidated the molecular mechanism of salt induced potential disabling autoimmune diseases in the body. Tomokazu Sumida and colleagues found through their research that in high salt environments, cells may activate a molecular pathway called the β - catenin/Wnt signaling pathway.

Previous studies have found that the β - catenin/Wnt signaling pathway may be involved in the development of cancer tumors, as it interferes with the function of regulatory T cells in the host body and induces inflammation.

Researchers have pointed out that the interaction between relatively common genetic mutations and environmental factors may increase an individual's risk of developing multiple sclerosis. In addition to salt, there are multiple factors directly related to an individual's risk of developing multiple sclerosis, such as vitamin D deficiency, smoking, obesity, etc. In the later stage, researchers will further investigate the molecular mechanism of salt induced Alzheimer's disease in individuals through more in-depth research. They hope to develop new strategies that can effectively prevent multiple sclerosis based on the results of this study. (Biological Valley)

Original source:

Tomokazu Sumida, Matthew R. Lincoln, Chinonso M. Ukeje, et al. Activated β-catenin in Foxp3+ regulatory T cells links inflammatory environments to autoimmunity.Nature Immunology(2018) doi:10.1038/s41590-018-0236-6