GWAS identifies four novel eosinophilic esophagitis loci

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an allergic disorder characterized by infiltration of the esophagus with eosinophils. We had previously reported association of the TSLP/WDR36 locus with EoE. Here we report genome-wide significant associations at four additional loci; c11orf30 and STAT6, which have been previously associated with both atopic and autoimmune disease, and two EoE-specific loci, ANKRD27 that regulates the trafficking of melanogenic enzymes to epidermal melanocytes and CAPN14, that encodes a calpain whose expression is highly enriched in the esophagus. The identification of five EoE loci, not only expands our etiological understanding of the disease but may also represent new therapeutic targets to treat the most debilitating aspect of EoE, esophageal inflammation and remodeling.