Immune cells function by recognizing pathogens and initiating a complex cellular response to mount a defense. People can show a wide range of genetically driven variation in responses to infection. Alasoo et al. asked how the cellular environment drives change in noncoding regions associated with transcription in immune cells. Chromatin accessibility and gene expression change in pluripotent stem cell lines exposed to signals simulating bacterial infections. Genetic variants among these cell lines affected the timing of gene expression, depending on to what they were exposed. Interestingly, disease-risk variants associated with immune dysfunction, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, emerged from the analyses.
