Background/Aims:Role of autophagy in neutrophil function and the association of autophagy and autophagy related (ATG) gene polymorphisms with asthma susceptibility were suggested. In this study, we investigated the genetic association of ATG5 and ATG7 polymorphisms with asthma risk, severity and neutrophilic airway inflammation.Methods:We recruited 408 asthma patients and 201 healthy controls. Sputum neutrophil counts were determined by H&E staining. Serum interleukin 8 (IL-8) levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Genetic polymorphisms of ATG5 (–769T>C, –335G>A, and 8830C>T) and ATG7 (–100A>G and 25108G>C) were genotyped. The functional activities of ATG5 –769T>C and –335G>A variants were investigated by luciferase reporter assays.Results:No associations of ATG5 and ATG7 polymorphisms with asthma susceptibility and severity were found. ATG5 –769T>C and –335G>A were in complete linkage disequilibrium. In the asthma group, GA/AA genotypes at ATG5 –335G>A were associated with higher neutrophil counts in sputum (p < 0.05); CC/TT genotype at ATG5 8830C>T associated with lower FEV1% predicted value (p < 0.05). DNA fragments containing ATG5 –769T and –335G alleles had higher promoter activities compared to those with –769C and –335A in both human airway epithelial cells (A549, p < 0.01) and human mast cell (HMC-1, p < 0.001). GG and CC genotype at ATG7 –100A>G and 25108G>C were significantly associated with high serum levels of IL-8 (p < 0.05 for both variants).Conclusions:Genetic polymorphisms of ATG5 and ATG7 could contribute to neutrophilic airway inflammation in the pathogenesis of adult asthma.
Background Evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) reduces the incidence of allergic disease in children. LCPUFAs are produced from dietary precursors catalyzed by desaturases and elongases encoded by the FADS1/2 and ELOVL5 genes. DNA methylation regulates gene activity and fatty acid supplementation could alter DNA methylation (DNA-M) at these genes. We investigated whether DNA-M and expression of the FADS1/2 and ELOVL5 genes were associated with allergy in children and gestational fish intake. We studied 170 participants from the Isle of Wight 3rd Generation Cohort, UK. Phenotype data and exposure was assessed by questionnaires. Genome-wide DNA-M in cord blood samples was quantified using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450 and EPIC Beadchips. Five SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) in the FADS gene cluster and one SNP in ELOVL5 were genotyped in offspring. FADS gene expression in offspring cord blood was determined. Results Gestational fish intake was significantly associated with increased methylation of cg12517394 ( P = 0.049), which positively correlated with FADS1 mRNA levels ( P = 0.021). ELOVL5 rs2397142 was significantly associated with eczema ( P = 0.011) and methylation at cg11748354 and cg24524396 ( P < 0.001 and P = 0.036, respectively). Gestational fish intake was strongly associated with elevated DNA-M at cg11748354 and cg24524396 ( P = 0.029 and P = 0.002, respectively) and reduced ELOVL5 mRNA expression ( P = 0.028). Conclusion The association between induced FADS1/2 and ELOVL5 DNA-M and reduced gene expression due to gestational fish intake provide a mechanistic explanation of the previously observed association between maternal LCPUFA intake and allergy development in early childhood. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12263-019-0644-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Chronic urticaria (CU) is a common allergic skin disease that requires long-term pharmacological treatment. Some patients with severe CU suffer a poor quality of life. Although the pathogenic mechanisms of CU are not clearly understood, several groups have suggested that genetic mechanisms are involved in various CU cohorts. To further understand the molecular genetic mechanisms of CU, we summarize recent genetic data in this review. Although a few HLA alleles were suggested to be candidate markers in different ethnic groups, further replication studies that apply the recent classification are needed. Genetic polymorphisms in histamine-related genes, including FcεRI and HNMT, were suggested to be involved in mast cell activation and histamine metabolism. Several genetic polymorphisms of leukotriene-related genes, such as ALOX5, LTC4S, and the PGE2 receptor gene PTGER4, were suggested to be involved in leukotriene overproduction, a pathogenic mechanism. Further investigations using candidate gene approaches and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) will provide new insights into the molecular genetic mechanisms of CU, which will provide new marker genes for differentiation of CU phenotypes and identification of potential therapeutic targets.
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