Rather than viewing the genome as a simple linear sequence, the study focuses on how DNA folds in space inside cells, bringing distant regulatory regions into physical contact with the genes they control. This 3D architecture is crucial for gene regulation, and understanding it can help explain how disease-associated genetic variants exert their effects.

In the new study, a global research team focuses on a specific type of innate lymphoid cells (ILC3s), a rare population of immune cells involved in inflammation and tissue repair in barrier tissues such as the gut. Although these cells have increasingly been implicated in autoimmune disease, they have remained difficult to study at the level of gene regulation because of their scarcity.