Association of genetic variants in chromosome 17q21 and adult-onset asthma in a Chinese Han population

Abstract

Abstract Background Genome-wide association studies of asthma have identified a novel region containing ORMDL3 at chromosome 17q21 that is strongly associated with childhood-onset asthma and significantly linked to ORMDL3 transcript abundance. These results have been successfully replicated in childhood-onset asthma cohorts in several ethnic groups. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the association of polymorphisms in ORMDL3, GSDMB, ZPBP2 and IKZF3 and adult-onset asthma in a Chinese Han population. Methods We genotyped 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at chromosome 17q21 in 1,366 Han Chinese people comprising 710 patients with adult-onset asthma and 656 healthy controls. We compared the 2 groups in terms of allele and haplotype frequencies. Transcript levels were measured in leukocytes from 61 asthma patients by quantitative real-time PCR. Results We found the 5 SNPs significantly associated with asthma (PORMDL3 and GSDMB in leukocytes (all p Conclusions Our replication study suggests that variants in 17q21 are significantly associated with risk of adult-onset asthma and gene expression in a Chinese Han population.