Lay Summary
Proposal No. IBD-0157R2
Principal Investigator: Jean-Pierre Hugot, M.D., Ph.D.
Applicant Organization: Naturalia et Biologia (Paris, France)
Project Title: Role of psychotrophic bacteria in Crohn's disease
Period of Award: May 1, 2006 – October 31, 2007
Crohn’s disease (CD) is characterized by a relapsing inflammatory process involving the digestive tract. The etiology of the disease is largely unknown. CD is considered a complex where environmental and genetic risk factors have to interact for disease development. The report by our group and Gabriel Nuñez’s group that Card15/Nod2 is a susceptibility gene for CD provides for the first time the unique opportunity to search for specific environmental factors in mutated and to develop preventive actions.
A line of evidences suggests that CD environmental risk factors are related to the modern Western way of life. We recently postulated that refrigeration may contribute to the outbreak of CD during the 20th century. This hypothesis allowed us to focus on bacteria able to grow at low temperatures, including Yersinia species and Listeria monocytogenes. These bacteria have been found in CD lesions and preliminary data from our group and others suggest a link between these bacteria and Card15/Nod2.
We propose to analyze the interaction between Yersinia species and Card15/Nod2 in order to define further the putative role of the bacteria in CD. In case of a positive result, the study could provide the rationale for more detailed epidemiological studies and preventive actions.