Please note: This article was published more than one year ago.
The facts and conclusions presented may have since changed and
may no longer be accurate. Questions about personal health
should always be referred to a physician or other health care
professional. THURSDAY, June 24 (HealthDay News) -- Mice with a
gene variant linked to Crohn's disease only develop the
inflammatory bowel disorder if they are infected by a common
norovirus called MNV, finds a new study. Noroviruses are a group
of viruses that cause gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the
stomach lining. Two years ago, the researchers at Washington
University School of Medicine in St. Louis and others discovered
that mice with an ATG16L1 gene variant associated with Crohn's
disease in humans develop similar abnormalities in gut immune
cells called Paneth cells. But the mutation alone wasn't enough
to trigger Crohn's disease. In a routine screening, the team
later found that mice with the gene variant developed Crohn's
disease symptoms within seven