Genetics

Genome-wide association studies have firmly established IL2RA as a susceptibility gene for multiple sclerosis, yet the magnitude and structure of its genetic effect have remained unclear. This blog post examines how integrating multi-SNP association analyses with family-based linkage data reveals a substantially stronger and more accurate representation of IL2RA’s contribution to disease risk than conventional single-SNP approaches. By highlighting a two-SNP model that aligns with both case–control contrasts and affected sib-pair allele sharing, the discussion illustrates why precise gene modeling is essential for resolving missing heritability and advancing pathway-level understanding of complex autoimmune disorders.