Approved Research

Genetic risk, environmental factors, and autoimmune diseases and other chronic diseases

Lay summary

Autoimmune diseases confers considerable disease burden. Genetic association studies conducted in the past decade have reported numbers of genetic variants related with the susceptibility of autoimmune diseases. However, large missing heritability still exists. Early diagnosis and treatment leads to better prognosis. However, most patients come to the hospital when the symptoms are obvious or even serious, resulting in limited therapies and poor prognosis. There are continuous inflammation and autoimmune responses in the patients, which may play important roles in carcinogenesis and the development of other chronic diseases.

Through the cohort data in UK Biobank, we aimed to discover the genetic variants interacted with the environmental factors, to find some early biochemical/metobolomic markers for autoimmune diseases, and to study the causal relationship and genetic correlations therein. We also plan to explore the relationship between autoimmune diseases and other chronic diseases. This project will need a duration of nearly three years.

Our research will discover more genetic variants, especially those highlighted in the interaction with environmental exposures, thus providing indications for preventative interventions for autoimmune diseases. Secondly, our research will gain some insights for early detection. The biomarkers discovered will also indicate possible biological pathways and comorbidity. Finally, our research will provide some clues for management of patients against some other chronic diseases.