News

A new publication from CAPSTONE partners, Dr. Jonas Kuiper from the University of Utrecht (NE) and Pr. Peter Van Endert from Université Paris Cité (FR) was recently published in “Trends in Immunology”. The authors put the spotlight on the ERAP2 variants in the article: “Uncovering the genomic toll of the Black Death”.

The human immune system is exposed to constant and significant selective pressure. Myriad pathogens constantly adapting to our immune defenses probe our resistance to potentially lethal infections and select individuals with genetic traits favoring survival. In human history, possibly the most formidable challenge to our immune system was the Black Death, a pandemic caused by Y. pestis, which hit immunologically naive Europeans around 1346 AD and killed up to 50% of the European and 20% of the global population. 

Read the full article under the link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2022.12.001