Team studies biology of IBD gene CARD9 by examining protective allele

The gene CARD9 codes for a central component of the innate anti-fungal immune response and has recently been associated with risk for several immune-related disorders, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). New research from the lab of Broad institute member Ramnik Xavier looks to a rare CARD9 variant, which is strongly protective against IBD, to uncover the basic biology of the gene as well as its regulation. The paper, published this week in Immunity, also offers a potential mechanism for the protective allele.