Identification of DMBT1 single nucleotide polymorphisms and their haplotypes as novel susceptibility variants for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis influencing DMBT1 expressi…

Aims: DMBT acts as pattern recognition and scavenger receptor with antibacterial properties. Recently, we identified DMBT1 as a target gene of the proinflammatory but also epithelial-protective cytokines IL-22 and IL-27. This candidate gene study with tagging SNPs analyzed the role of DMBT1 gene variants regarding Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) susceptibility. Methods: Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the DMBT1 gene region were analyzed in 2073 individuals of Caucasian origin, including 818 CD patients, 283 UC patients and 972 healthy unrelated controls in two independent case-co…