A NOD for autophagy

Susceptibility to Crohn's disease has been linked to polymorphisms in genes involved in two pathophysiological pathways: autophagy and the recognition of bacterial peptidoglycan by nucleotide oligomerization domain-2 (NOD2), an intracellular receptor. Two studies link these pathways by showing that recognition of bacterial peptidoglycans by NOD2 induces autophagy and bacterial clearance.