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World J Gastroenterol. Nov 28, 2006; 12(44): 7161-7164
Published online Nov 28, 2006. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i44.7161
Relationship between Crohn’s disease, infection with Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis and SLC11A1 gene polymorphisms in Sardinian patients
Leonardo A Sechi, Maria Gazouli, Lee E Sieswerda, Paola Molicotti, Niyaz Ahmed, John Ikonomopoulos, Antonio M Scanu, Daniela Paccagnini, Stefania Zanetti
Leonardo A Sechi, Paola Molicotti, Daniela Paccagnini, Stefania Zanetti, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Sezione di Microbiologia Sperimentale e Clinica, Università degli studi di Sassari, Viale S. Pietro 43/B, Sassari 07100, Italy
Maria Gazouli, Department of Biology, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Lee E Sieswerda, Thunder Bay District Health Unit, 999 Balmoral Street, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Niyaz Ahmed, Pathogen Evolution Group, Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, Hyderabad, India
John Ikonomopoulos, Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Anatomy-Physiology, Faculty of Animal Science, Athens, Greece
Antonio M Scanu, Clinica Chirurgica, Università degli studi di Sassari, Viale S. Pietro, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Leonardo A Sechi, Niyaz Ahmed, Stefania Zanetti, Daniela Paccagnini, ISOGEM, International Society of Genetic and Evolutionary Microbiology, Working Group on Mycobacterial disease. Sassari, Italy
Correspondence to: Leonardo A Sechi, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Sezione di Microbiologia Sperimentale e Clinica, Università degli studi di Sassari, Viale S. Pietro 43/B, 07100 Sassari, Italy. sechila@uniss.it
Telephone: +39-79-228303 Fax: +39-79-212345
Received: July 20, 2006
Revised: July 28, 2006
Accepted: October 20, 2006
Published online: November 28, 2006
Abstract

AIM: To study the association between Crohn’s disease (CD), Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), and genetic factors by examining the role of natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (NRAMP1) gene polymorphisms (now SLC11A1) in Sardinian patients with CD and controls.

METHODS: Thirty-seven CD patients and 34 controls with no inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were recruited at the University of Sassari after giving written consent. Six SCL11A1 polymorphisms previously reported to be the most significantly associated with IBD were searched. M. paratuberculosis was identified by IS900 PCR and sequencing. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (OR) for the associations among CD, presence of MAP, and 6 loci described above.

RESULTS: For the first time, a strong association was observed between polymorphisms at NRAMP1 locus 823C/T and CD. While CD was strongly associated with both NRAMP1 and MAP, NRAMP1 polymorphisms and MAP themselves were not correlated.

CONCLUSION: Combined with previous work on the NOD2/CARD15 gene, it is clear that the interplay of genetic, infectious, and immunologic factors in the etiology of CD is complex.

Keywords: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis; Crohn’s disease; SCL11A1 polymorphisms