519 | id == 519
519 | category_id == 29
519 | category_order == 26
519 | category_name == Lupus
519 | category_color == #C47AC0
519 | slug == BLK-NFkB-lupus
519 | title == Altered Activity of B Cells in Lupus (BLK)
519 | meta_description == The BLK gene controls the development and activity of white blood cells. Learn about its link with lupus.
519 | summary == <p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Genes play a major role in the function of white blood cells. This post reveals the link between the BLK gene and lupus, and gives you personalized diet &amp; lifestyle tips!</strong></p>
519 | overall_score_text == Your Lupus Score (based on BLK gene)
519 | image == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/background/BLK-Lupus.jpg
519 | author_id == 9
519 | author_name == Aleksa Ristic
519 | author_title == MS (Pharmacy)
519 | author_order == 45
519 | author_photo == https://sd-selfdecode-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/author-photo/Aleksa.jpg
519 | author_intro == <p><strong>Aleksa received his MS in Pharmacy from the University of Belgrade, his master thesis focusing on protein sources in plant-based diets.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>    <p>Aleksa is passionate about herbal pharmacy, nutrition, and functional medicine. He found a way to merge his two biggest passions&mdash;writing and health&mdash;and use them for noble purposes. His mission is to bridge the gap between science and everyday life, helping readers improve their health and feel better.</p>
519 | reviewer == None
519 | medical_reviewer_id == 11
519 | medical_reviewer_name == Puya Yazdi
519 | medical_reviewer_title == MD
519 | publish_date == 2020
519 | publish_date == 12
519 | publish_date == 2
519 | avg_rating == 5.0
519 | tags_id == 33
519 | tags_name == Autoimmunity
519 | tags_id == 242
519 | tags_name == B cells
519 | tags_id == 24
519 | tags_name == Inflammation
519 | tags_id == 84
519 | tags_name == Lupus
519 | tags_id == 369
519 | tags_name == NF-κB
519 | permissions_favorite == False
519 | permissions_rate == False
519 | content_article == <h2><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;"><strong>The BLK gene controls the activity of white blood cells via NF-kB. Altered white blood cell function is the hallmark of lupus and other autoimmune conditions.<br /><br /></strong><strong>Specific gene variants may alter BLK function and NF-kB levels. They&rsquo;ve been associated with higher lupus rates.<br /><br /></strong><strong>Dietary and lifestyle modifications may prevent or improve lupus by targeting the BLK variants.</strong></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2><strong>BLK, NF-kB &amp; Autoimmunity</strong></h2> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The </span><a href="https://selfdecode.com/gene/blk/"><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">BLK</span></em></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene controls the development and activity of B cells, 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 cells</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that produce antibodies. Altered B cell function is the hallmark of lupus and other autoimmune conditions [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2404338/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268679/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Variants in the </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">BLK</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> gene may affect the levels of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/nuclear-factor-kappa-b/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">NF-kB</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, the &lsquo;master controller&rsquo; of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/natural-ways-lower-inflammation/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">inflammation</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and immune response [</span><a href="https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/pmc3980411"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2821978/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">NF-kB has dual roles in autoimmunity, with both high and low levels being a potential contributing factor. However, most autoimmune conditions eventually cause widespread inflammation with elevated NF-kB [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3664242/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5395695/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5661633/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <h2><strong>Your BLK Results for Lupus</strong></h2> <p>*7266102635517941*</p> <p><strong>Primary SNP:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs7812879/"><strong>rs7812879</strong></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19838193/"><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;C&rsquo; - associated with higher lupus rates</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;T&rsquo; - not associated with lupus</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;C&rsquo; allele may alter BLK and NF-kB activity</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>Other Important SNPs:</strong></p> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs2736340/"><strong>rs2736340</strong></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[</span><a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/19838195"><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;T&rsquo; - associated with higher lupus rates</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;C&rsquo; - not associated with lupus</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;T&rsquo; allele may alter BLK and NF-kB activity</span></li> </ul> <p><a href="https://selfdecode.com/snp/rs2736332/"><strong>rs2736332</strong></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">[</span><a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ng.3434"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://europepmc.org/article/med/26502338"><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;C&rsquo; - associated with higher lupus rates</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">&lsquo;G&rsquo; - not associated with lupus</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The &lsquo;C&rsquo; allele may alter BLK and NF-kB activity</span></li> </ul> <p>*3451902511986087*</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h2><strong>Recommendations to Prevent or Improve Lupus</strong></h2> <p>*7429389070414216*</p> <h3><strong>Avoid Cigarette Smoke</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smoking can contribute to autoimmune inflammation by increasing NF-kB levels [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21298317/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3160853/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">According to several meta-analyses, the risk of lupus increases by approximately 50% in current but not in former smokers. Moreover, smoking may reduce the effectiveness of lupus drug treatment by 50%-90% [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31520802/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26188616/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25648824/"><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;">Smoking may worsen the impact of your BLK variants on lupus development.</span></p> <h3><strong>Green Tea</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The anti-inflammatory effects of </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/green-tea/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">green tea</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> partly stem from its potential to inhibit NF-kB activation [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9868178/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10775421/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5046134/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In one clinical trial, taking 1000 mg/day of a green tea extract (equivalent to one cup of tea) for 12 weeks improved lupus severity and quality of life [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28585735/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="background-color: #e8ebfc; border-left: 2px solid #4569fa; display: block; padding: 20px;">Green tea may improve lupus by targeting your gene variants.</span></p> <h3><strong>Thunder God Vine</strong></h3> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Active ingredients in </span><a href="https://selfhacked.com/blog/15-promising-thunder-god-vine-benefits/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">thunder god vine</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> may help with different inflammatory conditions by reducing NF-kB levels [</span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10224110/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15541481/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3306007/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This herb improved multiple cases of lupus in China. However, most of the studies that support its use date back to the 80s and have low quality [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2791160/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10680192/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6800725/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6555446/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18652362/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25058036/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29193402/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">].</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In mice with lupus, thunder god vine increased survival and reduced kidney damage and inflammation [</span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1445458/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1728981/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1754486/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1526566/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3560846/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15840409/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">R</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4514757/"><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;">According to limited evidence, thunder god vine may counteract your variants and reduce lupus symptoms.</span></p>
519 | content_snp_table_7266102635517941_key == 7266102635517941
519 | content_snp_table_7266102635517941_blur == True
519 | content_snp_table_7266102635517941_hidden == False
519 | content_learn_more_3451902511986087_key == 3451902511986087
519 | content_learn_more_3451902511986087_blur == True
519 | content_learn_more_3451902511986087_hidden == False
519 | content_learn_more_3451902511986087_text == Based on the variants we looked at, your BLK gene is associated with slightly higher odds of lupus. However, this doesn't necessarily reflect your overall risk of lupus; it’s just one gene related to it. Avoid cigarette smoke and drink green tea to improve lupus by targeting your variants. Keep reading to learn more.
519 | content_recommendation_7429389070414216_key == 7429389070414216
519 | content_recommendation_7429389070414216_blur == True
519 | content_recommendation_7429389070414216_hidden == False
rsIDs = rs7812879,rs2736340,rs2736332
rsStatus = rs7812879,,chr8,11482672,T,A,C,,5,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs2736340,,chr8,11486464,C,A,G,T,24,0,Normal
rsStatus = rs2736332,,chr8,11482456,G,C,T,,18,0,Normal
