NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Genetic variants of the TOLL-like receptor 10 (TLR10) are associated with asthma, researchers report. The finding was uncovered in one cohort and confirmed in another, thus providing “strong support for TLR10 genetic variation contributing to asthma risk.”
TOLL-like receptors play a role in innate immune defenses and are expressed in lung, according to the authors of the report in the September 15th issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Innate immune responses in early life may influence asthma susceptibility, and thus indicate that TLR10 may be a candidate gene for asthma risk.
The current finding, senior investigator Dr. Scott T. Weiss told Reuters Health, “again confirms the importance of variation in genes for innate immunity in asthma and suggests the possible importance of TLR10 specifically in relationship to asthma phenotypes.”
Dr. Weiss of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and colleagues resequenced TLR10 in 47 samples from African American and European American individuals, and identified 78 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Specifically, 36 of these variations had not previously been published.
In a case-control study of more than 1000 European American subjects there was a significant association between two of the SNPs and physician-diagnosed asthma.
These results were replicated in an independent family-based cohort. Moreover, an association was also seen between one of the SNPs and airway hyperresponsiveness.
Thus, Dr. Weiss continued, “there are now approximately 40 asthma genes with replicated associations in two or more populations.” These genetic variants, he concluded, “will be important in predicting disease natural history and response to medications.”
Source: Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2004;170:594-600. [ Google search on this article ]
MeSH Headings:Immunity, Natural: Polymorphism, Single NucleotideCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
