Researchers find first gene that increases risk of Crohn's
disease A joint release from the University of Chicago and the
University of Michigan May 21, 2001 A team of researchers from
the University of Chicago, the University of Michigan, and
others has identified the first genetic abnormality that
increases susceptibility to Crohn's disease. In the May 31,
2001, issue of Nature--and published May 21, 20011 on the
journal's Web site--the researchers report that mutations of
Nod2, a gene involved in the immune system's initial response to
bacterial infection, significantly increase the risk of Crohn's
disease. A companion paper by French scientists in the same
journal confirms the link in a different group of patients.
"Finding this crucial genetic clue gives us our first real
insight into the complex causes and mechanisms of Crohn's
disease," said study co-author Judy Cho , MD, assistant
professor of medicine and a researcher in the Martin Boyer
Laboratories at the University of Chicago. "We have long suspec