“It’s a bit more complicated than “ANE is caused by a mutation in a gene” or “it is caused by a virus” or “it is caused by environmental factors”. In reality it is a combination of all of these. Your genes encode proteins that make up your cells. These proteins have various functions including how your body reacts to viruses and the environment. Disentangling all of this is very complicated. In the lab we can see that cells cannot survive without a RanBP2 protein – so it is likely that ANE-associated mutations do not completely disable the gene but alter it in a very particular way so that the body’s reaction to certain viral infections is altered”.
ALEXANDER F. PALAZZO