Researcher(s)
- Asvika Gobinathan, Psychology, University of Delaware
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Tania Roth, Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of Delaware
Abstract
The impact of autoimmune diseases on our livelihood is quite a prominent issue. Autoimmune diseases can be described as diseases in which the immune system attacks vital body parts as it mistakenly identifies the part as dangerous. These attacks can lead to many issues in health and with no cure there seems to be a necessity for further studies. One avenue to address in order to improve our knowledge of this issue is by looking at the epigenetic makeup of monozygotic twins. Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by gene expression, specifically DNA methylation: which methylates certain DNA strands preventing them from being expressed, and histone modification: histone tails can be modified by adding a methyl group. Monozygotic twins are a contributing factor to this study as they have almost identical DNA with the exception of these epigenetic changes. Even with similar DNA, these twins present differences in susceptibility to diseases. In some cases, only one of the twins may display the symptoms of the disease, even when both of the twins have the same DNA strands that permit the expression. This typically occurs when some part of the DNA is methylated, through epigenetic changes. Specific to autoimmune diseases, this could present the idea that by identifying the susceptibility twins have to retain specific autoimmune diseases we may be able to conclude as to whether autoimmune disease development can occur through epigenetic functions. Through different studies on these twins, researchers can discover the specific mechanisms involved in overall epigenetics and relate that information to autoimmune diseases. By conducting these studies on different specific autoimmune diseases such as Graves Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and others we can get a better understanding of whether there’s a consistent pattern that can be used to stimulate cures and autoimmune therapeutic exercises.