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Review
. 2017 May;9(3):191-199.
doi: 10.4168/aair.2017.9.3.191.

Genetic Signatures of Asthma Exacerbation

Heung Woo Park  1   2 , Kelan G Tantisira  2   3
Affiliations
Review

Genetic Signatures of Asthma Exacerbation

Heung Woo Park et al. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2017 May.

Abstract

Asthma exacerbation (AE) usually denotes worsening of asthma symptoms that requires intense management to prevent further deterioration. AE has been reported to correlate with clinical and demographic factors, such as race, gender, and treatment compliance as well as environmental factors, such as viral infection, smoking, and air pollution. In addition, recent observations suggest that there are likely to be genetic factors specific to AE. Understanding genetic factors specific to AE is essential to develop therapy tailored for exacerbation-prone asthma. Here, we summarize the results of studies involving genetic risk factors for AE. To simplify and enhance understanding, we reviewed the studies according to the following categories: hypothesis-driven approaches, hypothesis-free approaches, gene-environment interactions, and pharmacogenetics.

Keywords: Asthma exacerbation; gene-environment interaction; genetics; genome-wide association study; pharmacogenetics.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no financial or other issues that might lead to conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure
Figure. Summary of plausible biological mechanisms underlying genes associated with asthma exacerbation. (A) Genes related with gene-environment interactions and asthma pathogenesis. (B) Genes related with pharmacogenetic effects. β2AR, β2-adrenergic receptors; CysLTR1, cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 1; GC, glucocorticoid; GR, glucocorticoid receptor; LTC4, leukotriene C4.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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