©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Nov 15, 2015; 6(4): 159-168
Published online Nov 15, 2015. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v6.i4.159
Published online Nov 15, 2015. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v6.i4.159
Host-microbiome interaction in Crohn’s disease: A familiar or familial issue?
Andrea Michielan, Renata D’Incà, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliera - Università degli Studi di Padova, 35128 Padova, Italy
Author contributions: Michielan A contributed to concept and drafting of the manuscript; D’Incà R contributed to critical revision for important intellectual content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Correspondence to: Andrea Michielan, MD, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Gastroenterological Sciences, Azienda Ospedaliera - Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Giustiniani 2, 35128 Padova, Italy. andreamichielan@virgilio.it
Telephone: +39-04-98212893 Fax: +39-04-98760820
Received: June 24, 2015
Peer-review started: June 24, 2015
First decision: August 25, 2015
Revised: September 13, 2015
Accepted: October 23, 2015
Article in press: October 27, 2015
Published online: November 15, 2015
Processing time: 146 Days and 12 Hours
Peer-review started: June 24, 2015
First decision: August 25, 2015
Revised: September 13, 2015
Accepted: October 23, 2015
Article in press: October 27, 2015
Published online: November 15, 2015
Processing time: 146 Days and 12 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Family studies support a host-microbiome interaction in the development of Crohn’s disease (CD). Unaffected relatives reveal genetic variants in loci involved in detecting bacteria, a greater sero-reactivity to microbial components, an impaired intestinal permeability, and a greater susceptibility to environmental factors. Whether genetic or environmental factors drive these conditions is still under investigation, but CD pathogenesis is very likely multifactorial. A genetic burden may be hypothesized in familial CD, while environmental factors may be predominant in sporadic CD.