23andMe – Sequencing your Genome and Autoimmune Implications

Humanity has now come to the point where you can spit into a test tube, send it in the mail, and get back data on your genome for only $99 (23andMe.com).  One goal is to identify if your DNA has any specific sequences that associate with health conditions.  This article discusses a particular SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) that has been associated with increased risk to autoimmune diseases, specifically Celiacs.  Since my fiance has been diagnosed with Hashimoto’s and I know I have a gluten sensitivity if nothing more, I will give this whole genome testing thing a try just because I am so curious!

Unfortunately, 23andMe does not provide any associative evidence for what health conditions you are more or less susceptible too anymore.  The FDA has prevented them from providing “Medical Advice”.  However you can still review your own data set for the SNPs that have been published in reports.  This site has compiled them for your own review.  It is important to remember that when checking the risk allele they can be in any order (CG is the same as GC).  Also, the risk alleles can be reported in the complementary form (A<->T or C<->G).  So this means if a risk allele is AC and your data shows GT… you’ve got it.  If you don’t understand this paragraph and want to attempt this yourself, please read up on the basics of genetics first.

Science is not at the stage of providing all of the epigenetics data (which genes are expressed or “turned on”) along with the genome sequencing for only $99, but its a start!  We still have a long way to go before the analysis of personal epigenetics data is fully understood anyways.  Just keep a positive outlook that your hard-coded genes are regulated (expressed or inhibited) by many factors including how we take care of ourselves (diet, exercise, and stress levels).  So your DNA does not have the final say in who you are.  You do!

Autoimmune diseases can be caused by intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome) and triggered by many environmental factors, but most commonly:  gluten and dairy.  Many autoimmune reactions have been linked to gluten as the number one causal antigen.  The list of autoimmune diseases is enormous and growing to include:  Celiacs, Hashimotos, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Psoriasis, Graves, Type I Diabetes, and possibly even Alzheimers and Osteoporosis.  It is mind blowing to think these all may have very similar causalities.

Also, the same article discusses how bifidobacteria has been found to protect against Celiacs disease.  This bacteria is commonly found within our gut flora and transferred to infants through their mother’s breast milk.  Many probiotics include bifidobacteria as well.  I am still searching for experimental data on how to permanently alter the colonization of our gut flora for the better.  For now, I’m continuing with live probiotics like fermented vegetables and water kefir.

I will keep up the research on autoimmunity and the microbiome and will let you know how the genome sequencing goes!