Genetic association between a ‘standing’ variant of NOD2 and bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorders (BD) are chronic, multisystem and multifactorial disorders with significant lifetime morbidity, mortality and socio-economic burden. Understanding the underlying genetic and disease triggering environmental factors should improve diagnosis, prognosis, prevention and therapeutic management of the disease. Since intestinal innate dysimmunity seems to play a significant role in the etiopathogeny of BD, we explored in a sample of French Caucasian BD patients, the genetic polymorphisms of NOD2 (nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain containing 2) gene, a key player in such immunity. We found a Caucasian-specific ‘standing’ variation to be associated with BD. The significance of this finding is discussed in the context of Crohn's disease as well as the complex function of NOD2 in innate immunity.