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Gene variation raises asthma risk in children |
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08:16, July 06, 2007 |
Scientists have identified a genetic variation that significantly raises a child's risk of developing asthma.
The discovery adds to evidence for the role genetics, rather than environmental factors, plays in how children develop asthma and may one day lead to better treatments for one of the most common chronic childhood ailments.
An international research team composed of scientists from France, Germany, the United States and Austria, used a new technique to identify genes that predispose children to the disease, according to the latest issue of Nature published on Thursday.
The research team tested the differences in DNA between about 1000 children with asthma and about 1200 without and found the major variation was on chromosome 17, where changes increased the activity of a gene called ORMDL3 in the blood cells of children with asthma.
The presence of the genetic variations raises the risk of developing the disease by 60 percent and the gene could be a target for new drugs, W. Cookson who led the research said.
"We only know that ORMDL3 is expressed on the endoplasmatic reticulum, an organelle. This ORMDL3 expression is prominent in many cells and tissues, especially in immune cells," another leading researcher Albrecht Bufe was quoted as saying.
Variations in this sequence appeared with significantly greater frequency in children suffering from asthma and are therefore a clear risk factor, according to the researchers.
The function of the gene complex remains completely unknown, according to the researchers. The next step for them is to try and find out the exact function of the ORMDL3 proteins affected by the variations in the gene complex.
Bronchial asthma is one of the most common chronic childhood lung diseases. Asthma is an inflammatory reaction of the bronchial mucosa which leads to restriction of the respiratory passages resulting in shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing and a notable impairment to the quality of life coupled with chronic changes in the lung.
Source: Xinhua
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