Although further work with larger patient cohorts is required to determine whether integrin αvβ8 expression is specifically upregulated in CD patients vs. those with ulcerative colitis and other intestinal diseases, and whether severity of disease correlates with the expression of the integrin, our data suggest an important cellular and molecular mechanism by which TGFβ activation can be regulated in the intestine in CD. The gene discussed is TGFB1; the disease is ulcerative colitis.