Genetic variation in ORM1-like 3 (ORMDL3) and gasdermin-like (GSDML) and childhood asthma

BACKGROUND

A genome-wide association study identified ORM1-like 3 (orosomucoid 1-like 3, ORMDL3) as an asthma candidate gene. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the region including ORMDL3 on chromosome 17q21 were related to childhood asthma risk and ORMDL3 expression levels in Europeans.

OBJECTIVE

We examined whether polymorphisms in ORMDL3 and the adjacent gasdermin-like (GSDML) gene associated with asthma in the genome-wide association study are related to childhood asthma and atopy in a Mexico City population.

METHODS

We genotyped rs4378650 in ORMDL3 and rs7216389 in GSDML in 615 nuclear families consisting of asthmatic children aged 4-17 years and their parents. Atopy was determined by skin prick tests to 25 aeroallergens.

RESULTS

Individuals carrying the C allele of rs4378650 or the T allele of rs7216389 had increased risk of asthma [relative risk (RR) = 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.19-2.53, P = 0.003 for one or two copies of rs4378650 C, and RR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.12-2.38, P = 0.009 for one or two copies of rs7216389 T). Linkage disequilibrium between the two SNPs was high (r(2) = 0.92). Neither of the SNPs was associated with the degree of atopy. A meta-analysis of five published studies on rs7216389 in nine populations gave an odds ratio for asthma of 1.44 (95% CI, 1.35-1.54, P < 0.00001).

CONCLUSIONS

Our results and the meta-analysis provide evidence to confirm the finding from a recent genome-wide association study that polymorphisms in ORMDL3 and the adjacent GSDML may contribute to childhood asthma.

GSTM1 and GSTP1 and respiratory health in asthmatic children exposed to ozone

Acute exposure to ozone has been related to a wide spectrum of health effects in susceptible individuals. Genetic factors may influence interindividual variation in ozone response. The current authors investigated the relationships between common polymorphisms in two genes involved in response to oxidative stress, i.e. glutathione S-transferases M1 (GSTM1) and P1 (GSTP1), and both respiratory symptoms and lung function in response to ozone among childhood asthmatics. A total of 151 asthmatic children, who were participants in a randomised controlled trial of antioxidant vitamin supplementation in Mexico City, were studied. Children were genotyped using PCR methods and followed from October 1998-April 2000. Increases in reported breathing difficulty were associated with ozone exposure in children with GSTM1 null (8%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1-15%, per 20-ppb increase in 1-h maximum daily average over 7 days) or GSTP1 Valine/Valine (Val/Val) genotypes (14%, 95% CI 5-25%). In children with both GSTM1 null and GSTP1 Val/Val genotypes, the increase in breathing difficulty associated with a 20-ppb increase in ozone exposure was even greater (21%, 95% CI 5-39%). GSTP1 genotypes were not significantly associated with ozone-related lung function changes. In conclusion, asthmatic children with glutathione S-transferase M1 null and glutathione S-transferase P1 Valine/Valine genotypes appear more susceptible to developing respiratory symptoms related to ozone exposure.

[Juvenile dermatomyositis: clinical, immunologic, and therapeutic characteristics]

Although dermatomyositis is a rare disease in infancy, it involves several systems and tissues throughout the body causing death or serious disabilities at the musculoesquelethal level. The increased incidence of vasculitis and other characteristics in children make their clinical presentation different from the adult, which could modify the diagnostic criteria, course disease and treatment of the child. We analyze the clinical experience at Hospital Infantil de Mexico Federico Gomez with 21 children studied during a period of ten years. All patients fulfilled the Bohan and Peters diagnostic criteria and 91% of them responded to treatment. At the present time 52% are in remission without treatment, 37.7% improved with treatment, 4.5% with little response to treatment and 4.7% have died because of infections.