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Jeremy D. Sanderson

Bio: Jeremy D. Sanderson is an academic researcher from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. The author has contributed to research in topics: Inflammatory bowel disease & Thiopurine methyltransferase. The author has an hindex of 65, co-authored 289 publications receiving 33622 citations. Previous affiliations of Jeremy D. Sanderson include National Health Service & University College London.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
Paul Burton1, David Clayton2, Lon R. Cardon, Nicholas John Craddock3  +192 moreInstitutions (4)
07 Jun 2007-Nature
TL;DR: This study has demonstrated that careful use of a shared control group represents a safe and effective approach to GWA analyses of multiple disease phenotypes; generated a genome-wide genotype database for future studies of common diseases in the British population; and shown that, provided individuals with non-European ancestry are excluded, the extent of population stratification in theBritish population is generally modest.
Abstract: There is increasing evidence that genome-wide association ( GWA) studies represent a powerful approach to the identification of genes involved in common human diseases. We describe a joint GWA study ( using the Affymetrix GeneChip 500K Mapping Array Set) undertaken in the British population, which has examined similar to 2,000 individuals for each of 7 major diseases and a shared set of similar to 3,000 controls. Case-control comparisons identified 24 independent association signals at P < 5 X 10(-7): 1 in bipolar disorder, 1 in coronary artery disease, 9 in Crohn's disease, 3 in rheumatoid arthritis, 7 in type 1 diabetes and 3 in type 2 diabetes. On the basis of prior findings and replication studies thus-far completed, almost all of these signals reflect genuine susceptibility effects. We observed association at many previously identified loci, and found compelling evidence that some loci confer risk for more than one of the diseases studied. Across all diseases, we identified a large number of further signals ( including 58 loci with single-point P values between 10(-5) and 5 X 10(-7)) likely to yield additional susceptibility loci. The importance of appropriately large samples was confirmed by the modest effect sizes observed at most loci identified. This study thus represents a thorough validation of the GWA approach. It has also demonstrated that careful use of a shared control group represents a safe and effective approach to GWA analyses of multiple disease phenotypes; has generated a genome-wide genotype database for future studies of common diseases in the British population; and shown that, provided individuals with non-European ancestry are excluded, the extent of population stratification in the British population is generally modest. Our findings offer new avenues for exploring the pathophysiology of these important disorders. We anticipate that our data, results and software, which will be widely available to other investigators, will provide a powerful resource for human genetics research.

9,244 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Luke Jostins1, Stephan Ripke2, Rinse K. Weersma3, Richard H. Duerr4, Dermot P.B. McGovern5, Ken Y. Hui6, James Lee7, L. Philip Schumm8, Yashoda Sharma6, Carl A. Anderson1, Jonah Essers9, Mitja Mitrovic3, Kaida Ning6, Isabelle Cleynen10, Emilie Theatre11, Sarah L. Spain12, Soumya Raychaudhuri9, Philippe Goyette13, Zhi Wei14, Clara Abraham6, Jean-Paul Achkar15, Tariq Ahmad16, Leila Amininejad17, Ashwin N. Ananthakrishnan9, Vibeke Andersen18, Jane M. Andrews19, Leonard Baidoo4, Tobias Balschun20, Peter A. Bampton21, Alain Bitton22, Gabrielle Boucher13, Stephan Brand23, Carsten Büning24, Ariella Cohain25, Sven Cichon26, Mauro D'Amato27, Dirk De Jong3, Kathy L Devaney9, Marla Dubinsky5, Cathryn Edwards28, David Ellinghaus20, Lynnette R. Ferguson29, Denis Franchimont17, Karin Fransen3, Richard B. Gearry30, Michel Georges11, Christian Gieger, Jürgen Glas22, Talin Haritunians5, Ailsa Hart31, Christopher J. Hawkey32, Matija Hedl6, Xinli Hu9, Tom H. Karlsen33, Limas Kupčinskas34, Subra Kugathasan35, Anna Latiano36, Debby Laukens37, Ian C. Lawrance38, Charlie W. Lees39, Edouard Louis11, Gillian Mahy40, John C. Mansfield41, Angharad R. Morgan29, Craig Mowat42, William G. Newman43, Orazio Palmieri36, Cyriel Y. Ponsioen44, Uroš Potočnik45, Natalie J. Prescott6, Miguel Regueiro4, Jerome I. Rotter5, Richard K Russell46, Jeremy D. Sanderson47, Miquel Sans, Jack Satsangi39, Stefan Schreiber20, Lisa A. Simms48, Jurgita Sventoraityte34, Stephan R. Targan, Kent D. Taylor5, Mark Tremelling49, Hein W. Verspaget50, Martine De Vos37, Cisca Wijmenga3, David C. Wilson39, Juliane Winkelmann51, Ramnik J. Xavier9, Sebastian Zeissig20, Bin Zhang25, Clarence K. Zhang6, Hongyu Zhao6, Mark S. Silverberg52, Vito Annese, Hakon Hakonarson53, Steven R. Brant54, Graham L. Radford-Smith55, Christopher G. Mathew12, John D. Rioux13, Eric E. Schadt25, Mark J. Daly2, Andre Franke20, Miles Parkes7, Severine Vermeire10, Jeffrey C. Barrett1, Judy H. Cho6 
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute1, Broad Institute2, University of Groningen3, University of Pittsburgh4, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center5, Yale University6, University of Cambridge7, University of Chicago8, Harvard University9, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven10, University of Liège11, King's College London12, Université de Montréal13, New Jersey Institute of Technology14, Cleveland Clinic15, Peninsula College of Medicine and Dentistry16, Université libre de Bruxelles17, Aarhus University18, University of Adelaide19, University of Kiel20, Flinders University21, McGill University22, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich23, Charité24, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai25, University of Bonn26, Karolinska Institutet27, Torbay Hospital28, University of Auckland29, Christchurch Hospital30, Imperial College London31, Queen's University32, University of Oslo33, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences34, Emory University35, Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza36, Ghent University37, University of Western Australia38, University of Edinburgh39, Queensland Health40, Newcastle University41, University of Dundee42, University of Manchester43, University of Amsterdam44, University of Maribor45, Royal Hospital for Sick Children46, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust47, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute48, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital49, Leiden University50, Technische Universität München51, University of Toronto52, University of Pennsylvania53, Johns Hopkins University54, University of Queensland55
01 Nov 2012-Nature
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis genome-wide association scans is undertaken, followed by extensive validation of significant findings, with a combined total of more than 75,000 cases and controls.
Abstract: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two common forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), affect over 2.5 million people of European ancestry, with rising prevalence in other populations. Genome-wide association studies and subsequent meta-analyses of these two diseases as separate phenotypes have implicated previously unsuspected mechanisms, such as autophagy, in their pathogenesis and showed that some IBD loci are shared with other inflammatory diseases. Here we expand on the knowledge of relevant pathways by undertaking a meta-analysis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis genome-wide association scans, followed by extensive validation of significant findings, with a combined total of more than 75,000 cases and controls. We identify 71 new associations, for a total of 163 IBD loci, that meet genome-wide significance thresholds. Most loci contribute to both phenotypes, and both directional (consistently favouring one allele over the course of human history) and balancing (favouring the retention of both alleles within populations) selection effects are evident. Many IBD loci are also implicated in other immune-mediated disorders, most notably with ankylosing spondylitis and psoriasis. We also observe considerable overlap between susceptibility loci for IBD and mycobacterial infection. Gene co-expression network analysis emphasizes this relationship, with pathways shared between host responses to mycobacteria and those predisposing to IBD.

4,094 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Andre Franke1, Dermot P.B. McGovern2, Jeffrey C. Barrett3, Kai Wang4, Graham L. Radford-Smith5, Tariq Ahmad6, Charlie W. Lees7, Tobias Balschun1, James Lee8, Rebecca L. Roberts9, Carl A. Anderson3, Joshua C. Bis10, Suzanne Bumpstead3, David Ellinghaus1, Eleonora M. Festen11, Michel Georges12, Todd Green13, Talin Haritunians2, Luke Jostins3, Anna Latiano14, Christopher G. Mathew15, Grant W. Montgomery5, Natalie J. Prescott15, Soumya Raychaudhuri13, Jerome I. Rotter2, Philip Schumm16, Yashoda Sharma17, Lisa A. Simms5, Kent D. Taylor2, David C. Whiteman5, Cisca Wijmenga11, Robert N. Baldassano4, Murray L. Barclay9, Theodore M. Bayless18, Stephan Brand19, Carsten Büning20, Albert Cohen21, Jean Frederick Colombel22, Mario Cottone, Laura Stronati, Ted Denson23, Martine De Vos24, Renata D'Incà, Marla Dubinsky2, Cathryn Edwards25, Timothy H. Florin26, Denis Franchimont27, Richard B. Gearry9, Jürgen Glas28, Jürgen Glas19, Jürgen Glas22, André Van Gossum27, Stephen L. Guthery29, Jonas Halfvarson30, Hein W. Verspaget31, Jean-Pierre Hugot32, Amir Karban33, Debby Laukens24, Ian C. Lawrance34, Marc Lémann32, Arie Levine35, Cécile Libioulle12, Edouard Louis12, Craig Mowat36, William G. Newman37, Julián Panés, Anne M. Phillips36, Deborah D. Proctor17, Miguel Regueiro38, Richard K Russell39, Paul Rutgeerts40, Jeremy D. Sanderson41, Miquel Sans, Frank Seibold42, A. Hillary Steinhart43, Pieter C. F. Stokkers44, Leif Törkvist45, Gerd A. Kullak-Ublick46, David C. Wilson7, Thomas D. Walters43, Stephan R. Targan2, Steven R. Brant18, John D. Rioux47, Mauro D'Amato45, Rinse K. Weersma11, Subra Kugathasan48, Anne M. Griffiths43, John C. Mansfield49, Severine Vermeire40, Richard H. Duerr38, Mark S. Silverberg43, Jack Satsangi7, Stefan Schreiber1, Judy H. Cho17, Vito Annese14, Hakon Hakonarson4, Mark J. Daly13, Miles Parkes8 
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of six Crohn's disease genome-wide association studies and a series of in silico analyses highlighted particular genes within these loci implicated functionally interesting candidate genes including SMAD3, ERAP2, IL10, IL2RA, TYK2, FUT2, DNMT3A, DENND1B, BACH2 and TAGAP.
Abstract: We undertook a meta-analysis of six Crohn's disease genome-wide association studies (GWAS) comprising 6,333 affected individuals (cases) and 15,056 controls and followed up the top association signals in 15,694 cases, 14,026 controls and 414 parent-offspring trios. We identified 30 new susceptibility loci meeting genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10⁻⁸). A series of in silico analyses highlighted particular genes within these loci and, together with manual curation, implicated functionally interesting candidate genes including SMAD3, ERAP2, IL10, IL2RA, TYK2, FUT2, DNMT3A, DENND1B, BACH2 and TAGAP. Combined with previously confirmed loci, these results identify 71 distinct loci with genome-wide significant evidence for association with Crohn's disease.

2,482 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Paul Burton1, David Clayton2, Lon R. Cardon1, Nicholas John Craddock3  +221 moreInstitutions (30)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report initial association and independent replication in a North American sample of two new loci related to ankylosing spondylitis, ARTS1 and IL23R, and confirm the previously reported association of AITD with TSHR and FCRL3.
Abstract: We have genotyped 14,436 nonsynonymous SNPs (nsSNPs) and 897 major histocompatibility complex (MHC) tag SNPs from 1,000 independent cases of ankylosing spondylitis (AS), autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), multiple sclerosis (MS) and breast cancer (BC). Comparing these data against a common control dataset derived from 1,500 randomly selected healthy British individuals, we report initial association and independent replication in a North American sample of two new loci related to ankylosing spondylitis, ARTS1 and IL23R, and confirmation of the previously reported association of AITD with TSHR and FCRL3. These findings, enabled in part by increased statistical power resulting from the expansion of the control reference group to include individuals from the other disease groups, highlight notable new possibilities for autoimmune regulation and suggest that IL23R may be a common susceptibility factor for the major 'seronegative' diseases.

1,299 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Carl A. Anderson1, Gabrielle Boucher2, Charlie W. Lees3, Andre Franke4, Mauro D'Amato5, Kent D. Taylor6, James Lee7, Philippe Goyette2, Marcin Imielinski8, Anna Latiano9, Caroline Lagacé2, Regan Scott10, Leila Amininejad11, Suzannah Bumpstead1, Leonard Baidoo10, Robert N. Baldassano8, Murray L. Barclay12, Theodore M. Bayless13, Stephan Brand14, Carsten Büning15, Jean-Frederic Colombel16, Lee A. Denson17, Martine De Vos18, Marla Dubinsky6, Cathryn Edwards19, David Ellinghaus4, Rudolf S N Fehrmann20, James A B Floyd1, Timothy H. Florin21, Denis Franchimont11, Lude Franke20, Michel Georges22, Jürgen Glas14, Nicole L. Glazer23, Stephen L. Guthery24, Talin Haritunians6, Nicholas K. Hayward25, Jean-Pierre Hugot26, Gilles Jobin2, Debby Laukens18, Ian C. Lawrance27, Marc Lémann26, Arie Levine28, Cécile Libioulle22, Edouard Louis22, Dermot P.B. McGovern6, Monica Milla, Grant W. Montgomery25, Katherine I. Morley1, Craig Mowat29, Aylwin Ng30, William G. Newman31, Roel A. Ophoff32, Laura Papi33, Orazio Palmieri9, Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet, Julián Panés, Anne M. Phillips29, Natalie J. Prescott34, Deborah D. Proctor35, Rebecca L. Roberts12, Richard K Russell36, Paul Rutgeerts37, Jeremy D. Sanderson38, Miquel Sans39, Philip Schumm40, Frank Seibold41, Yashoda Sharma35, Lisa A. Simms25, Mark Seielstad42, Mark Seielstad43, A. Hillary Steinhart44, Stephan R. Targan6, Leonard H. van den Berg32, Morten H. Vatn45, Hein W. Verspaget46, Thomas D. Walters44, Cisca Wijmenga20, David C. Wilson3, Harm-Jan Westra20, Ramnik J. Xavier30, Zhen Zhen Zhao25, Cyriel Y. Ponsioen47, Vibeke Andersen48, Leif Törkvist5, Maria Gazouli49, Nicholas P. Anagnou49, Tom H. Karlsen45, Limas Kupčinskas50, Jurgita Sventoraityte50, John C. Mansfield51, Subra Kugathasan52, Mark S. Silverberg44, Jonas Halfvarson53, Jerome I. Rotter6, Christopher G. Mathew34, Anne M. Griffiths44, Richard B. Gearry12, Tariq Ahmad, Steven R. Brant13, Mathias Chamaillard54, Jack Satsangi3, Judy H. Cho35, Stefan Schreiber4, Mark J. Daly30, Jeffrey C. Barrett1, Miles Parkes7, Vito Annese9, Hakon Hakonarson55, Graham L. Radford-Smith25, Richard H. Duerr10, Severine Vermeire37, Rinse K. Weersma20, John D. Rioux2 
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute1, Université de Montréal2, University of Edinburgh3, University of Kiel4, Karolinska Institutet5, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center6, University of Cambridge7, University of Pennsylvania8, Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza9, University of Pittsburgh10, Université libre de Bruxelles11, University of Otago12, Johns Hopkins University13, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich14, Charité15, Lille University of Science and Technology16, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center17, Ghent University18, Torbay Hospital19, University of Groningen20, Mater Health Services21, University of Liège22, University of Washington23, University of Utah24, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute25, University of Paris26, University of Western Australia27, Tel Aviv University28, University of Dundee29, Harvard University30, University of Manchester31, Utrecht University32, University of Florence33, King's College London34, Yale University35, Royal Hospital for Sick Children36, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven37, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust38, University of Barcelona39, University of Chicago40, University of Bern41, Agency for Science, Technology and Research42, University of California, San Francisco43, University of Toronto44, University of Oslo45, Leiden University46, University of Amsterdam47, Aarhus University48, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens49, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences50, Newcastle University51, Emory University52, Örebro University53, French Institute of Health and Medical Research54, Center for Applied Genomics55
TL;DR: A meta-analysis of six ulcerative colitis genome-wide association study datasets found many candidate genes that provide potentially important insights into disease pathogenesis, including IL1R2, IL8RA-IL8RB, IL7R, IL12B, DAP, PRDM1, JAK2, IRF5, GNA12 and LSP1.
Abstract: Genome-wide association studies and candidate gene studies in ulcerative colitis have identified 18 susceptibility loci. We conducted a meta-analysis of six ulcerative colitis genome-wide association study datasets, comprising 6,687 cases and 19,718 controls, and followed up the top association signals in 9,628 cases and 12,917 controls. We identified 29 additional risk loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), increasing the number of ulcerative colitis-associated loci to 47. After annotating associated regions using GRAIL, expression quantitative trait loci data and correlations with non-synonymous SNPs, we identified many candidate genes that provide potentially important insights into disease pathogenesis, including IL1R2, IL8RA-IL8RB, IL7R, IL12B, DAP, PRDM1, JAK2, IRF5, GNA12 and LSP1. The total number of confirmed inflammatory bowel disease risk loci is now 99, including a minimum of 28 shared association signals between Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

1,291 citations


Cited by
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Paul Burton1, David Clayton2, Lon R. Cardon, Nicholas John Craddock3  +192 moreInstitutions (4)
07 Jun 2007-Nature
TL;DR: This study has demonstrated that careful use of a shared control group represents a safe and effective approach to GWA analyses of multiple disease phenotypes; generated a genome-wide genotype database for future studies of common diseases in the British population; and shown that, provided individuals with non-European ancestry are excluded, the extent of population stratification in theBritish population is generally modest.
Abstract: There is increasing evidence that genome-wide association ( GWA) studies represent a powerful approach to the identification of genes involved in common human diseases. We describe a joint GWA study ( using the Affymetrix GeneChip 500K Mapping Array Set) undertaken in the British population, which has examined similar to 2,000 individuals for each of 7 major diseases and a shared set of similar to 3,000 controls. Case-control comparisons identified 24 independent association signals at P < 5 X 10(-7): 1 in bipolar disorder, 1 in coronary artery disease, 9 in Crohn's disease, 3 in rheumatoid arthritis, 7 in type 1 diabetes and 3 in type 2 diabetes. On the basis of prior findings and replication studies thus-far completed, almost all of these signals reflect genuine susceptibility effects. We observed association at many previously identified loci, and found compelling evidence that some loci confer risk for more than one of the diseases studied. Across all diseases, we identified a large number of further signals ( including 58 loci with single-point P values between 10(-5) and 5 X 10(-7)) likely to yield additional susceptibility loci. The importance of appropriately large samples was confirmed by the modest effect sizes observed at most loci identified. This study thus represents a thorough validation of the GWA approach. It has also demonstrated that careful use of a shared control group represents a safe and effective approach to GWA analyses of multiple disease phenotypes; has generated a genome-wide genotype database for future studies of common diseases in the British population; and shown that, provided individuals with non-European ancestry are excluded, the extent of population stratification in the British population is generally modest. Our findings offer new avenues for exploring the pathophysiology of these important disorders. We anticipate that our data, results and software, which will be widely available to other investigators, will provide a powerful resource for human genetics research.

9,244 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
28 Oct 2010-Nature
TL;DR: The 1000 Genomes Project aims to provide a deep characterization of human genome sequence variation as a foundation for investigating the relationship between genotype and phenotype as mentioned in this paper, and the results of the pilot phase of the project, designed to develop and compare different strategies for genomewide sequencing with high-throughput platforms.
Abstract: The 1000 Genomes Project aims to provide a deep characterization of human genome sequence variation as a foundation for investigating the relationship between genotype and phenotype. Here we present results of the pilot phase of the project, designed to develop and compare different strategies for genome-wide sequencing with high-throughput platforms. We undertook three projects: low-coverage whole-genome sequencing of 179 individuals from four populations; high-coverage sequencing of two mother-father-child trios; and exon-targeted sequencing of 697 individuals from seven populations. We describe the location, allele frequency and local haplotype structure of approximately 15 million single nucleotide polymorphisms, 1 million short insertions and deletions, and 20,000 structural variants, most of which were previously undescribed. We show that, because we have catalogued the vast majority of common variation, over 95% of the currently accessible variants found in any individual are present in this data set. On average, each person is found to carry approximately 250 to 300 loss-of-function variants in annotated genes and 50 to 100 variants previously implicated in inherited disorders. We demonstrate how these results can be used to inform association and functional studies. From the two trios, we directly estimate the rate of de novo germline base substitution mutations to be approximately 10(-8) per base pair per generation. We explore the data with regard to signatures of natural selection, and identify a marked reduction of genetic variation in the neighbourhood of genes, due to selection at linked sites. These methods and public data will support the next phase of human genetic research.

7,538 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Stephan Ripke1, Stephan Ripke2, Benjamin M. Neale2, Benjamin M. Neale1  +351 moreInstitutions (102)
24 Jul 2014-Nature
TL;DR: Associations at DRD2 and several genes involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission highlight molecules of known and potential therapeutic relevance to schizophrenia, and are consistent with leading pathophysiological hypotheses.
Abstract: Schizophrenia is a highly heritable disorder. Genetic risk is conferred by a large number of alleles, including common alleles of small effect that might be detected by genome-wide association studies. Here we report a multi-stage schizophrenia genome-wide association study of up to 36,989 cases and 113,075 controls. We identify 128 independent associations spanning 108 conservatively defined loci that meet genome-wide significance, 83 of which have not been previously reported. Associations were enriched among genes expressed in brain, providing biological plausibility for the findings. Many findings have the potential to provide entirely new insights into aetiology, but associations at DRD2 and several genes involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission highlight molecules of known and potential therapeutic relevance to schizophrenia, and are consistent with leading pathophysiological hypotheses. Independent of genes expressed in brain, associations were enriched among genes expressed in tissues that have important roles in immunity, providing support for the speculated link between the immune system and schizophrenia.

6,809 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The GCTA software is a versatile tool to estimate and partition complex trait variation with large GWAS data sets and focuses on the function of estimating the variance explained by all the SNPs on the X chromosome and testing the hypotheses of dosage compensation.
Abstract: For most human complex diseases and traits, SNPs identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) explain only a small fraction of the heritability. Here we report a user-friendly software tool called genome-wide complex trait analysis (GCTA), which was developed based on a method we recently developed to address the “missing heritability” problem. GCTA estimates the variance explained by all the SNPs on a chromosome or on the whole genome for a complex trait rather than testing the association of any particular SNP to the trait. We introduce GCTA's five main functions: data management, estimation of the genetic relationships from SNPs, mixed linear model analysis of variance explained by the SNPs, estimation of the linkage disequilibrium structure, and GWAS simulation. We focus on the function of estimating the variance explained by all the SNPs on the X chromosome and testing the hypotheses of dosage compensation. The GCTA software is a versatile tool to estimate and partition complex trait variation with large GWAS data sets.

5,867 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
31 May 2001-Nature
TL;DR: It is suggested that the NOD2 gene product confers susceptibility to Crohn's disease by altering the recognition of these components and/or by over-activating NF-kB in monocytes, thus documenting a molecular model for the pathogenic mechanism of Crohn’s disease that can now be further investigated.
Abstract: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two main types of chronic inflammatory bowel disease, are multifactorial conditions of unknown aetiology A susceptibility locus for Crohn's disease has been mapped to chromosome 16 Here we have used a positional-cloning strategy, based on linkage analysis followed by linkage disequilibrium mapping, to identify three independent associations for Crohn's disease: a frameshift variant and two missense variants of NOD2, encoding a member of the Apaf-1/Ced-4 superfamily of apoptosis regulators that is expressed in monocytes These NOD2 variants alter the structure of either the leucine-rich repeat domain of the protein or the adjacent region NOD2 activates nuclear factor NF-kB; this activating function is regulated by the carboxy-terminal leucine-rich repeat domain, which has an inhibitory role and also acts as an intracellular receptor for components of microbial pathogens These observations suggest that the NOD2 gene product confers susceptibility to Crohn's disease by altering the recognition of these components and/or by over-activating NF-kB in monocytes, thus documenting a molecular model for the pathogenic mechanism of Crohn's disease that can now be further investigated

5,388 citations