克罗恩病（Crohn）和其他炎性肠道疾病（IBD）会给病人带来疼痛，导致患者身体虚弱。现在还没有已知的方法来治愈这些疾病，但疾病症状是可以得到控制的。

人们普遍认为IBD的发展是个体基因组成，肠道菌群，以及环境因素共同导致的结果，但没有完全理解这些因素是如何推动IBD的。

在Journal of Clinical Investigation杂志上的一项新研究确定了与克罗恩病相关的特定基因表达谱和微生物群落变化。辛辛那提儿童医院医学中心Lee Denson和他的同事，比较健康病人与克罗恩病儿童患者的肠道。

克罗恩病患者的2个基因（DUOX2和载脂蛋白A1）的表达发生了改变，以及有一个独特的微生物群落。此外，研究提示载脂蛋白A1(APOA1)的表达和微生物丰度可以被用来预测克罗恩病患者的临床治疗结果。

原文：

Pediatric Crohn disease patients exhibit specific ileal transcriptome and microbiome signature

Yael Haberman, et al.

Interactions between the host and gut microbial community likely contribute to Crohn disease (CD) pathogenesis; however, direct evidence for these interactions at the onset of disease is lacking. Here, we characterized the global pattern of ileal gene expression and the ileal microbial community in 359 treatment-naive pediatric patients with CD, patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and control individuals. We identified core gene expression profiles and microbial communities in the affected CD ilea that are preserved in the unaffected ilea of patients with colon-only CD but not present in those with UC or control individuals; therefore, this signature is specific to CD and independent of clinical inflammation. An abnormal increase of antimicrobial dual oxidase (DUOX2) expression was detected in association with an expansion of Proteobacteria in both UC and CD, while expression of lipoprotein APOA1 gene was downregulated and associated with CD-specific alterations in Firmicutes. The increased DUOX2 and decreased APOA1 gene expression signature favored oxidative stress and Th1 polarization and was maximally altered in patients with more severe mucosal injury. A regression model that included APOA1 gene expression and microbial abundance more accurately predicted month 6 steroid-free remission than a model using clinical factors alone. These CD-specific host and microbe profiles identify the ileum as the primary inductive site for all forms of CD and may direct prognostic and therapeutic approaches.