Genetic Variation and Mechanisms of Chronic Inflammation

Summary

We are interested in how certain genetic markers linked to human disease can alter the immune system and trigger chronic inflammation.

Crohn’s disease and arthritis are inflammatory conditions that affect a large number of people in the UK. Crohn’s disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the digestive tract (gut), leading to symptoms such as abdominal pain, weight loss and diarrhoea. Many patients need treatment withmedicines such as steroidsandmay need majorsurgery. Whilst the currently availabletreatments canhelp reduceinflammation, they do not cure the condition.

Many genetic markers have been discovered that can increase a person’s risk of developing Crohn’s disease. Some of these markers increase the risk of developing several different conditions as well as affect how the immune system works. We hope that this research will improve our understanding of how immune cells are altered in conditions such as Crohn's disease, and may also help us to develop new therapies in the future.

Participation: For this study we recruited 24 volunteers from the Cambridge BioResource to give a 50ml blood sample. Study visits were run by the Cambridge BioResource team.

Organisation: This study is organised by Professor Arthur Kaser from the Department of Medicine at the University of Cambridge.