[Inflammatory bowel diseases: in search of novel cytokines and genes]

Inflammatory bowel diseases are chronic idiopathic intestinal disorders that have diverse manifestations such as diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, weight loss, fever and extraintestinal manifestations. The current concept regarding their immunopathogenesis is that, in a genetically susceptible host, an aberrant response of the mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) towards a non-pathogenic microorganism, elicits the cascade that culminates in intestinal inflammation. In this issue of HAREFUAH, Waterman M & al have screened IBD vs. control population in search of a genetic association between IBD and the interleukin 13 polymorphism 2044+G/A, on chromosome 5. Although they have found no such association, the editorial addresses the importance of cytokines and novel genes for the understanding of the immunopathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases, and its treatment.