DEK and autoimmune disease: DEK codes for the proto-oncogene DEK, a nuclear phosphoprotein that was identified for the first time in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia23 and is frequently upregulated in solid tumours.24 It has also been associated with several autoimmune diseases.25 DEK is ubiquitously expressed in the CNS (Supplementary Fig. 1), although its role there remains largely unknown.