Advances in asthma and allergy genetics in 2007

This review discusses the main advances in the genetics of asthma and allergy published in the Journal in 2007. The association studies discussed herein addressed 3 main topics: the effect of the environment and gene-environment interactions on asthma/allergy susceptibility, the contribution of T_H2 immunity gene variants to allergic inflammation, and the role of filaggrin mutations in atopic dermatitis and associated phenotypes. Other articles revealed novel, potentially important candidate genes or confirmed known ones. Collectively, the works published in 2007 reiterate that allergy and asthma are typical complex diseases; that is, they are disorders in which intricate interactions among environmental and genetic factors modify disease susceptibility by altering the fundamental structural and functional properties of target organs at critical developmental windows.

Key words: Allergy, asthma, genetics, single nucleotide polymorphisms, association studies

Abbreviations used: FLG, Filaggrin, LRTI, Lower respiratory tract infection, MYLK, Myosin light chain kinase, PARSIFAL, Prevention of Allergy Risk Factors for Sensitization in Children Related to Farming and Anthroposophic Lifestyle, RSV, Respiratory syncytial virus, SNP, Single nucleotide polymorphism, SPT, Skin prick test, TLR, Toll-like receptor