Common alleles that influence autophagy and the risk for inflammatory bowel disease

► Genetic studies of inflammatory bowel disease have identified multiple risk loci that contain autophagy genes. ► Autophagy-related genes implicated in IBD play roles in xenophagy, vesicular trafficking/secretion, and cytokine secretion. ► Defects in xenophagy may cause impaired bacterial handling and promote inappropriate host responses to commensal organisms. ► Multiple Crohn's disease-associated polymorphisms may converge on Paneth cell phenotypes and function.