ATG16L1 contributes to Crohn's disease susceptibility in Koreans: overmuch concern for ethnic difference?

The incidence of Crohn’s disease (CD) increases steadily in Asia, but is still quite low compared with Western countries.1 So far, over 140 susceptibility loci to CD have been identified in Caucasians through genome-wide association studies (GWASs) and meta-analyses.2 Recent GWASs in Korean and Japanese populations identified a few more susceptibility loci, but could not replicate many established CD loci.3 4 A Japanese large scale replication study consisting of 1311 cases and 6585 controls could replicate less than half of 71 CD susceptibility loci identified in Caucasians.5 Particularly, it aroused concern that such well-established loci as ATG16L1 and NOD2 have not been replicated. It was unclear whether the lack of association was due to limited statistical power, different linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, or aetiological heterogeneity between Asian and Western populations. The identification of ATG16L1 as a CD susceptibility gene...
Source: Gut - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: PostScript Source Type: research