Mutations in the COL7A1 gene elicit an autoimmune response and autoantibodies to type VII collagen and cause epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica.43 The mutated COL7A1 leads to a deficiency in anchoring fibrils, which in turn impairs the adherence between the epidermis and the underlying dermis similarly resulting in an impaired gut epithelial barrier. This evidence concerns the gene COL7A1 and epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica.