Scientists discover "master gene"

The discovery of the 'master gene' which holds the key to the immune system's first line of defence could open up a host of possibilities for new treatments for disease.

Scientists at Imperial College, London, genetically engineered mice lacking in this 'master gene', known as E4BP4, and found that while they were able to make up other components of the immune system, namely crucial B and T cells, they could not produce natural killer (NK) cells in the bone marrow.

These NK cells account for about a fifth of the body's white blood cells and are thought of as the body's 'first line of defence' against disease, patrolling the spleen, lymph nodes and bloodstream and rapidly identifying and destroying cells that have been invaded by viruses or turned cancerous.

With the latest news that E4BP4 is indispensable for the production of NK cells, the scientific community now know which gene is "at the top of the hierarchy".

It is hoped that this exciting discovery could spell the way for the development of  treatment's to boost NK cell activity.

Josephine Querido, senior information officer at Cancer Research UK, offered an inspirational quote for the future, stating that the new research "is an exciting discovery that could open the doors for new ways to treat cancer."

The findings may also have shed some light on why some people may be unusually prone to cancer or infection after research revealed that mice with just one copy of the E4BP4 gene, rather than two (one from each parent), made half the number of NK cells.