474 | id == 474
474 | category_id == 28
474 | category_order == 25
474 | category_name == Joint Inflammation
474 | category_color == #C47AC0
474 | slug == IRF5-rheumatoid-arthritis
474 | title == The Role of Interferons in Rheumatoid Arthritis (IRF5)
474 | meta_description == IRF5 regulates the interferon response and promotes Th1 and Th17 inflammation. What is its role in rheumatoid arthritis?
474 | summary == <p><strong><em>IRF5 </em>regulates the interferon response and promotes Th1 and Th17 inflammation. What is its role in rheumatoid arthritis? Find out here.</strong></p>
474 | overall_score_text == Your Arthritis Score (based on IRF5)
474 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/IL17F-Chronic-fatigue-syndrome.jpg
474 | author_id == 1
474 | author_name == Jasmine Foster
474 | author_title == BSc, BEd
474 | author_order == 36
474 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Jasmine.jpg
474 | author_intro == <p><strong>Jasmine received her BS from McGill University and her BEd from Vancouver Island University.</strong></p>    <p>Jasmine loves helping people understand their brains and bodies, a passion that grew out of her dual background in biology and education. From the chem lab to the classroom, everyone has the right to learn and make informed decisions about their health.</p>
474 | reviewer == None
474 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
474 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
474 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
474 | publish_date == 2020
474 | publish_date == 11
474 | publish_date == 11
474 | avg_rating == 5.0
474 | tags_id == 33
474 | tags_name == Autoimmunity
474 | tags_id == 95
474 | tags_name == Immune System
474 | tags_id == 24
474 | tags_name == Inflammation
474 | tags_id == 343
474 | tags_name == Interferons
474 | tags_id == 447
474 | tags_name == IRF5 Gene
474 | tags_id == 82
474 | tags_name == Rheumatoid Arthritis
474 | tags_id == 440
474 | tags_name == Th17 Cells
474 | tags_id == 435
474 | tags_name == Th1 Cells
474 | permissions_favorite == False
474 | permissions_rate == False
474 | content_article == <h2><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">encodes interferon regulatory factor 5. Variants of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may play a role in rheumatoid arthritis by promoting autoimmune inflammation. Lifestyle, diet, and supplement modifications may counteract the effects of these variants either by reducing IRF5 directly or by blocking the Th1 and Th17 immune response.</span></p> <h2><strong><em>IRF5</em></strong><strong> and Rheumatoid Arthritis</strong></h2> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/gene/irf5/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (interferon regulatory factor 5) regulates the expression of interferons and promotes </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/supplements-people-th1-dominant/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Th1</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/th17/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Th17</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> inflammatory responses. Macrophages, a type of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/how-to-increase-and-decrease-white-blood-cells/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">white blood cell</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> responsible for consuming invading bacteria and viruses, produce a lot of IRF5; in these cells, IRF5 stimulates the release of proinflammatory type 1 interferons and cytokines and blocks the anti-inflammatory </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/il-10/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">IL-10</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.1990"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5 has, unsurprisingly, been implicated in a variety of inflammatory diseases, including cancer, lupus erythematosus, and </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/ulcerative-colitis/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">ulcerative colitis</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.1990"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://academic.oup.com/intimm/article/30/11/529/5026002"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26192919"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A normal inflammatory response protects your body from invading pathogens like bacteria and viruses. However, inflammation can easily get out of control and do serious damage. In excess, IRF5 may cause damage by over-activating macrophages and stimulating the production of type 1 interferons (interferon alpha and beta) [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.1990"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6625751/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20166872/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5 is believed to worsen rheumatoid arthritis through this inflammatory mechanism. Mice that do not express IRF5 have much less severe arthritic inflammation, and people with higher expression of the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene may be at greater risk of developing the disease [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4661118/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31169264/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At least two variants in </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> have been associated with rheumatoid arthritis in humans. In both cases, the risk allele likely increases the amount of IRF5 the body produces, thereby increasing the likelihood that the body&rsquo;s immune system will attack its own joint tissues and cause inflammation [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4467986/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3605761/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These same variants may also promote the development of lupus, a similar autoimmune disease that attacks many tissues throughout the body [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4467986/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3605761/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">IRF5</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> encodes a protein that regulates interferons and promotes Th1 and Th17 inflammation. High levels of IRF5 have been associated with inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis.</span></span></p> <h2><strong>Your </strong><strong><em>IRF5</em></strong><strong> Results for Rheumatoid Arthritis</strong></h2> <p>*6113890558702819*</p> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/gene/irf5/"><strong>IRF5</strong></a> <a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs4728142/"><strong>rs4728142</strong></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4467986/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = not associated with rheumatoid arthritis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;A&rsquo; = associated with higher rates of rheumatoid arthritis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;A&rsquo; allele may increase the production of interferons, leading to higher levels of Th1 &amp; Th17 inflammation [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.1990"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></li> </ul> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/gene/irf5/"><strong>IRF5</strong></a> <a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs3807306/"><strong>rs3807306</strong></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3605761/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">]</span></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; = Not associated with rheumatoid arthritis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;T&rsquo; = Associated with higher rates of rheumatoid arthritis</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;T&rsquo; allele may increase the production of interferons, leading to higher levels of Th1 &amp; Th17 inflammation [</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ni.1990"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></li> </ul> <p>*6462621345889801*</p> <h2><strong>Recommendations for Reducing Arthritic Inflammation</strong></h2> <p>*4409173747462300*</p> <h3><strong>Moderate Sun Exposure</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">People with vitamin D deficiency tend to have higher interferon levels in their blood [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28659049/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Exposure to UVB rays has been found to inhibit the Th1 immune response, which is activated by IRF5. Moderate </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/avoiding-sun-will-kill-14-proven-science-based-health-benefits-sun/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sun exposure</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may therefore help reduce some of the downstream inflammatory effects of overexpressed IRF5 [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2326852/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Both </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/35proven-health-benefits-vitamin-d-part-1/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">vitamin D</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and direct sun exposure also seem to increase IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine which is suppressed by IRF5 [</span><a href="https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-019-0507-6"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17848808"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2326852/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vitamin D deficiency is more common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis than in the general population [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3539179/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A study of nurses found that those with greater exposure to UVB rays from the sun had the lowest rates of rheumatoid arthritis. Another study found that people who live further from the equator (who are likely to be exposed to less </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/avoiding-sun-will-kill-14-proven-science-based-health-benefits-sun/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">sunlight</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on average) are more likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678095/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920915/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Sun exposure (through UVB rays and vitamin D) may decrease inflammation and improve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.</span></p> <h3><strong>Mango (Mangiferin)</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the only natural substances that has consistently been found to reduce IRF5 activity is mangiferin, a polyphenol found in all parts of the mango plant and fruit [</span><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.02622/full"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27277156"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mangiferin has shown promise in cell studies for reducing the type of inflammation that causes rheumatoid arthritis. According to one study, mangiferin may prevent the destruction of joint tissues by promoting cell death in certain destructive </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/how-to-increase-and-decrease-white-blood-cells/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">white blood cells</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25204703/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2017.00052/full"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It may not be feasible to get the mangiferin needed by eating mangoes. However, mango leaf extract is available as a supplement.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Mangiferin, a polyphenol from mango, is among the only natural substances found to directly reduce IRF5.</span></p> <h3><strong>Fish Oil</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fish oil may reduce sensitivity to the inflammatory effects of interferon-alpha, according to studies of people with depression and dysregulated fats [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24602409/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18031138/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dietary fats are believed to regulate the Th1 immune response, which can be overactivated by high IRF5. In particular, </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/top-22-science-based-health-benefits-of-fish-oil/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">omega-3</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> fatty acids (like those found in fish and seafood) are the strongest inhibitors of Th1 [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11261793"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Studies show that dietary supplementation with fish oil lowers the activity of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12480795"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11802309"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A meta-analysis of 17 trials found that supplemental </span><a href="http://selfhacked.com/blog/top-22-science-based-health-benefits-of-fish-oil/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">fish oil</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reduced inflammatory joint </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/pain-management/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">pain</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> from rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory conditions [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17335973"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Omega-3&rsquo;s were as effective as ibuprofen in reducing pain caused by arthritis, according to a study of 250 patients [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16531187"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400; background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil strongly inhibit Th1 inflammation and may improve rheumatoid arthritis symptoms.</span></p>
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474 | content_learn_more_6462621345889801_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your IRF5 gene is somewhat associated with rheumatoid arthritis. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect your overall risk of arthritic inflammation; it’s just one gene related to it. Sun exposure, mango, and fish oil may help. Keep scrolling to find out more.
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rsIDs = rs3807306,rs4728142
rsStatus = rs3807306,IRF5,chr7,128940626,G,A,C,T,33,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs4728142,,chr7,128933913,G,A,,,16,7,HET
