rs2315008

This PhD thesis by Paul Henderson comprises multiple studies on paediatric inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) in Scotland, including epidemiological studies documenting a 76% rise in IBD incidence, genetic association studies identifying ICOSLG SNP rs8126734-A as overtransmitted in IBD/CD (p=0.0467, OR 1.85 for CD; p=0.0084), CRP gene variants rs1130864-A and rs1417938-A associated with PIBD susceptibility (OR 1.56-1.89 for CD), and functional characterization of NOD2 and autophagy pathways in Crohn's disease pathogenesis.

This PhD thesis encompasses multiple studies on pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): epidemiological analysis shows rising incidence in Scotland (4.45 to 7.82 per 100,000 per year); transmission disequilibrium testing identified rs8126734-A as overtransmitted in IBD and CD (OR 1.48, p=0.047; OR 1.85 for CD, p=0.008); genome-wide association meta-analysis confirmed strong signals in ICOSLG 3'UTR for CD susceptibility; CRP gene variants (rs1417938, rs1130864) showed significant overtransmission (p=0.006, p=0.015); and faecal calprotectin demonstrated superior diagnostic accuracy for PIBD detection (sensitivity 0.93, specificity 0.74).

This study examined 40 SNPs (34 CD-associated and 6 UC-associated) in 2374 Canadian IBD patients (1144 CD, 1230 UC/IBDU) and 1057 healthy controls. While most immune-related variants showed similar frequencies between CD and UC, the two diseases diverged significantly in genes related to innate immunity and autophagy (NOD2, ATG16L1, IRGM), which were more prevalent in CD. In patients with colon-only CD, genetic overlap with UC was nearly complete, suggesting a shared genetic basis for colonic disease.