"The link between salt and overactive immune cells appears to be a gene known as SGK1, which plays a key role in allowing the body to absorb salt. The more salt you ingest, the more active SGK1 becomes. Kuchroo, along with Aviv Regev, a computational biologist at the Broad Institute in Boston, has found that the gene also has another function: it controls TH17 cells. They theorise that high levels of SGK1 can lead to a flood of TH17, causing the immune system to spin out of control."
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...worse-than-thought-link-to-autoimmune-disease
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...worse-than-thought-link-to-autoimmune-disease