help button home button
AJRCCM
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by MARTINEZ, F. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by MARTINEZ, F. D.

Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., Volume 156, Number 4, October 1997, S117-S122

Complexities of the Genetics of Asthma

FERNANDO D. MARTINEZ

Respiratory Sciences Center, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona

The task of deciphering the genetics of asthma is very complex. Recent studies of the familiar segregation of asthma showed that no single gene accounts for a major part of the expression of the disease, and that a polygenic model with some evidence of an oligogenic influence (i.e., a handful of loci being responsible for most of the genetic control) provided the best fit to the data. Although a final common pathway of recurrent bronchial obstruction is present in most cases of asthma, the disease shows marked phenotypic variability, suggesting etiologic heterogeneity and strong environmental influences. In an effort to circumvent these obstacles, linkage studies for genes controlling for apparently simpler phenotypes have been attempted. Total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels, for example, show strong familiar aggregation and are known to be strongly correlated with asthma risk. Recent epidemiologic studies have suggested, however, that the inherited component of total serum IgE may be of little relevance as a determinant of asthma. Sensitization to certain aeroallergens is also associated with increased prevalence of asthma and is likely to have a genetic component, but the aeroallergens involved vary markedly with locale. In addition, sensitization to aeroallergens occurring at an early age is more strongly associated with asthma risk than late allergic sensitization, suggesting genetic heterogeneity. Therefore, studies of the genetics of phenotypes known to be strongly associated with asthma may clarify the causal role (if any) of the genes regulating their expression in the pathogenesis of asthma. Martinez FD. Complexities of the genetics of asthma.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
M. Sharma, J. Batra, U. Mabalirajan, S. Sharma, R. Nagarkatti, J. Aich, S. K. Sharma, P. V. Niphadkar, and B. Ghosh
A Genetic Variation in Inositol Polyphosphate 4 Phosphatase A Enhances Susceptibility to Asthma
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., April 1, 2008; 177(7): 712 - 719.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ThoraxHome page
N. Pearce, J. Douwes, and R. Beasley
Is allergen exposure the major primary cause of asthma?
Thorax, May 1, 2000; 55(5): 424 - 431.
[Abstract] [Full Text]

Home page
 ThoraxHome page
N. Pearce, J. Pekkanen, and R. Beasley
How much asthma is really attributable to atopy?
Thorax, March 1, 1999; 54(3): 268 - 272.
[Full Text]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
J. M. DRAZEN and E. K. SILVERMAN
Genetics of Asthma . Conference Summary
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., October 1, 1997; 156(4): S69 - S71.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proc. Am. Thorac. Soc. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol.
Copyright © 1997 American Thoracic Society 		  ATS State of the Art Course 2008