functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...
functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...
functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...
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AAPI’S NUTRITION GUIDE TO OPTIMAL HEALTH: USING PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS<br />
helpful marker of risk of IBD but not necessarily the<br />
final criteria for diagnosis. This also shows that not all<br />
individuals with IBD have exactly the same genetic<br />
variations, nor do they present with the same exact<br />
symptoms, thus demonstrating individual biochemical<br />
<strong>and</strong> genetic uniqueness. Ultimately, it appears that the<br />
defective bacterial signal in turn leads to an excessive<br />
91<br />
immune response, presenting as chronic gut<br />
inflammation in susceptible individuals (25).<br />
Figure 1. Illustration of the IBD-susceptibility genes. The confirmed IBD-susceptibility genes discussed in this paper<br />
(CARD15/NOD2, DLG5, SLC22A4/A5) are indicated by italicized, black letters. (image credit – 35)<br />
DLG5<br />
A typical characteristic of IBD is a disturbed epithelial<br />
barrier function. DLG5 is a member of the<br />
membrane-associated guanylate kinase gene family that<br />
is important in the maintenance of epithelial cell<br />
integrity (47). The DLG5 gene is located on<br />
chromosome 10q23 (40) <strong>and</strong> has been implicated in<br />
regulating cell growth <strong>and</strong> maintaining cell shape <strong>and</strong><br />
polarity (48).<br />
DLG5 proteins are localized at cell-cell junctions <strong>and</strong><br />
are thought to be involved in the maintenance of<br />
epithelial integrity (47) <strong>and</strong>, thus, in preserving<br />
selective gastrointestinal permeability. Variants in the<br />
DLG5 gene are suspected of interfering with this<br />
function <strong>and</strong> resulting in disrupted epithelial barrier<br />
2012