Innate immunity and inflammatory bowel disease: a review of clinical evidence and future application.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder caused by dysregulated immune responses in a genetically predisposed individual. Recent accumulating data, including genome-wide association studies, have identified >100 distinct genetic loci that confer susceptibility. We highlight how the dysregulation of host-microbial interaction leads to intestinal inflammation, particularly with respect to the overlap of common genetic and pathophysiological mechanisms of IBD.