CLEC7A and ulcerative colitis: In consecutive studies, we showed that: (i) the CLEC7A gene, which encodes the fungal sensor, Dectin-1, also modulate the risk of developing severe ulcerative colitis [82], and acts as a genetic disease specifier of cognition in high-functioning ASD [83]; (ii) an HLA haplotype previously associated with pediatric celiac disease, HLA-DRB1*11-HLA-DQB1*07, increase ASD risk, associating with higher social and non-verbal capacity [23]; and (iii) an HLA-class II sub-haplotype, which modulates regressive ASD risk, an autistic endophenotype characterized by intestinal anatomical alterations [24].