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All I can see from the results is a correlation !

Posted by atnjoly on 06 Nov 2008 at 15:51 GMT

Given the role of MHC class I molecules in anti-viral repsonses, I agree that it is tempting to surmise that it is the Mane-A*10 molecule which confers protection against neurological disease. But as it stands, the only thing this study shows is a correlation between the Mane-A*10 genotype and lowered susceptibility to CNS disease. Given that MHC class I loci are genetically closely linked to dozens of other loci involved in the control of immune responses, and that the monkeys in the colony used here are almost certainly closely genetically related to one another, the effects recorded could very well be due to a gene (or several) that is linked to the Mane-A*10 allele, but not necessary to that gene itself