Published online
doi:10.1084/jem.20080086
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol. 206, No. 1, 11-13
The Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007 $30.00
© Maul et al.
Women, autoimmunity, and cancer: a dangerous liaison between estrogen and activation-induced deaminase?
Robert W. Maul and
Patricia J. Gearhart
R.W.M. and P.J.G. are at Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224
CORRESPONDENCE P.J.G.: gearhartp{at}grc.nia.nih.gov
ABSTRACT
Why women are more susceptible to autoimmune diseases is not completely clear, but new data suggest that the hormone estrogen may play an important role. A new study now shows that estrogen activates the expression of activation-induced deaminase (AID), a protein that drives antibody diversification by deaminating cytosine in DNA to uracil. If estrogen increases the level of AID, increased mutations could transform benign antibodies into anti-self pariahs. AID might also contribute to cancer—particularly in breast tissue, which is highly responsive to estrogen—by introducing mutations and strand breaks into the genome.
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