BACKGROUND The IL23/IL17 pathway is pivotal in the development of chronic mucosal inflammation seen in Crohn's disease (CD). Genetic variants in the IL23R and IL12B have been associated with CD susceptibility. We investigated 10 genes within the IL23/IL17 pathway in a case-control study of 763 CD cases and 254 healthy controls. METHODS We identified a novel association in haplotypes in IL17A ...

Exciting new results from a genetic study in humans and functional studies in mice have pinpointed interleukin 23 (IL23) and its receptor as a key pathway in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These findings reveal a hitherto unappreciated role for the IL23 axis in intestinal inflammation and may open new avenues for development of therapeutic strategies in IBD.

BACKGROUND Guselkumab, an anti-interleukin-23 monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated significant efficacy in phase III psoriasis trials. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy and safety of guselkumab in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who had an inadequate response to ustekinumab. METHODS In this phase III, randomized, double-blind study, 871 patients received open-label uste...

The development of several highly effective biologic drugs in the past decade has revolutionized the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. With increased understanding of the immunopathogenesis of psoriasis, the emphasis has turned toward more specific targets for psoriasis drugs. Although the complex immunological pathway of psoriasis is not yet completely understood, current model...

A balance between Th17 and regulatory T (Treg) cells is critical for immune homeostasis and tolerance. Our previous work has shown Serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase 1 (SGK1) is critical for the development and function of Th17 cells. Here, we show that SGK1 restrains the function of Treg cells and reciprocally regulates development of Th17/Treg balance. SGK1 deficiency leads to protectio...

A Potential Explanation of a Positive Serum β-Glucan Assay in Mucormycosis To the Editor—I read with interest the nice study by Angebault et al [1] that gives a " real world " picture of the subop-timal performance of the serum β-glucan assay. Unexpectedly, the authors found that serum β-glucan test was positive in 3 of the 6 cases of mucormycosis in their series with no apparent cause of false...

In the colon, a sophisticated balance between immune reaction and tolerance is absolutely required. Dysfunction may lead to pathologic phenotypes ranging from chronic inflammatory processes to cancer development. Two prominent modulators of colon inflammation are represented by the closely related cytokines interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23, which initiate adaptive Th1 and Th17 immune responses, re...

BACKGROUND As a key element in the T-helper 17 (Th17) cell-mediated inflammatory process, interleukin-23 receptor (IL-23R) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cancer. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL-23R have been frequently studied in several previous case-control cancer studies, but its association with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) in Chinese population has no...