Abstract
Association mapping and candidate gene studies within IBD linkage regions, as well as genome-wide association studies in CD have led to the discovery of multiple risk genes, but these only explain a fraction of the genetic susceptibility observed in IBD. We have thus been pursuing a region on chromosome 3p21-22 showing linkage to CD and UC using a gene-centric association mapping approach. We identified twelve functional candidate genes by searching for literature co-citations with relevant keywords and for gene expression patterns consistent with immune/intestinal function. We then performed an association study composed of a screening phase, where tagging SNPs were evaluated in 1020 IBD patients, and an independent replication phase in 745 IBD patients. These analyses identified and replicated significant association to IBD for four SNPs within a 1.2 Mb LD region. We then identified a non-synonymous coding variant (rs3197999, R689C) in the macrophage stimulating 1 (MST1) gene (p-value 3.62×10−6) that accounts for the association signal, and shows association to both CD and UC. MST1 encodes MSP, a protein regulating the innate immune responses to bacterial ligands. R689C is predicted to interfere with MSP binding to its receptor, suggesting a role for this gene in the pathogenesis of IBD.