Plasma protein fucosylation plays an important role in inflammation [22] and the central role of HNF1α in the regulation of multiple genes involved in fucosylation may be the molecular mechanism behind the reported association between common variants in HNF1α and inflammatory markers (such as CRP) as well as several diseases in which inflammation plays a key pathogenic role (such as coronary artery disease, inflammatory bowel disease and cancer). The gene discussed is HNF1A; the disease is inflammatory bowel disease.