Inflammatory bowel disease: review from the aspect of genetics

Regardless of how inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is defined, the term “genetic susceptibility” is always included. Due to substantial progress in the characterization of susceptible genes that interact with environmental influences, a number of review articles offering the latest insights continue to be presented. To date, more than 30 novel IBD susceptible loci have been found, while several promising associations between IBD and gene variants have also been identified and replicated effectively. The present review highlights recent insights regarding linkage analysis and genome-wide association presented in studies of IBD susceptible genes, which provide additional evidence supporting their involvement in disease pathogenesis, based on linking to innate immune systems as a result of interactions with intestinal microbial flora. An improved understanding of IBD genetics will promote the identification of novel therapeutic agents, making it possible to identify environmental factors related to intestinal inflammation.