Genetic variation within TLR10 is associated with Crohn's disease in a New Zealand population

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play an important role in the induction and regulation of the innate immune system and have been implicated in both infectious and inflammatory diseases. Recently the first association of TLR10 with Crohn's disease (CD) was reported. Here, we attempted to validate this association, using a candidate gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) study of TLR10 in CD. We identified tagging SNPs, and genotyped these SNPs in a Caucasian New Zealand dataset consisting of 406 CD patients and 638 controls. In this sample, we were able to demonstrate an association between CD and several different TLR10 SNPs and haplotypes. Phenotypic analysis showed an association with early age at first diagnosis, inflammatory and ileocolonic CD behavior, requirement of bowel resection, and extra intestinal manifestations. This study provides evidence to suggest that genetic variation in TLR10 plays a role in interindividual differences in CD susceptibility and clinical outcome.