Northwestern University Medical School other research news

At the American College of Rheumatology meeting in Minneapolis, university researchers reported the cloning and sequencing of the genes that drive B cells to make the autoantibodies that cause the nephritis of lupus.

The genes code for positively charged molecules within the antigen-binding sites of the autoantibodies. The positively charged antibodies cause disease by binding to negatively charged sites in the kidneys, joints, blood vessels and other tissues. ...