Gene Discovery Gives Clues to Crohn's Disease, Colitis

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The study, done at centers in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, identified two mutated genes for the molecules that allow interleukin-10 to act on cells. "These mutations have very severe consequences," Glocker said. "If you have a mutation in the receptor, interleukin-10 doesn't work and the entire immune system is off-balance."

It took a lot of screening to find young people with this specific genetic flaw, Glocker said. The disease usually emerges later in life, and "in older patients, it could be different," he said.

"There have been a lot of different genetic studies of Crohn's disease, and they have always found genes that might be concerned," Glocker said. "Maybe we can screen adult patients for the genes we have described and think of a similar treatment. If you have this mutation, you might be suitable for a bone marrow transplant."

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But adult IBD is a complex condition, genetically speaking, he added.

"The problem is that in Crohn's disease patients, the cause of the disease is not well understood," Glocker said. "In the patients we had, we know the genes and the functions of the genes and the proteins. And that makes treatment -- a bone marrow transplant -- much easier. We're not sure that a transplant should be considered in adult Crohn's patients."

A number of variants of other genes have been detected in people with IBD, Schaffer said. "We're not saying anything about those patients, unless they also have the interleukin-10 variant," he said.

More information

There's more on IBD and its treatment at the American College of Gastroenterology.

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