The progress in genomic and postgenomic technology and knowledge by now opens the possibility to identify the molecular mechanisms in complex diseases. By using mouse and rat models the major gene regions associated with encephalomyelitis and arthritis could be detected. It was even possible to identify the genes hiding in these regions by positional cloning of one of the quantitative trait loci determining arthritis in rats. The lecture will explain how a structural polymorphism of the Ncf1 gene is linked with a previously unknown pathway leading to oxidative burst, which downregulates arthritis severity.
Rikard Holmdahl (1953 in Uppsala) is Professor in Medical Inflammation Research at the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. His recent main field of research focusses on arthritis as a prototype disease for identifying genes and following their molecular pathogenic pathway. In 2002 Professor Holmdahl and his research group have been awarded the European Descartes Prize for their fundamental studies on Multiple sclerosis.
Moderation: Professor Dr. Barbara M. Bröker