FOXO in the hole: leveraging GWAS for outcome and function.

GWAS studies of autoimmune disorders have yielded hundreds of replicated associations, but moving from genetic association to functional studies with potential clinical relevance is a challenge. Leveraging GWAS data, Lee et al. now identify FOXO3 activity as predictive of disease severity in Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis as well as malaria, likely by acting through regulation of cytokine production in monocytes.