Breakthrough Asthma Study
Shows Multiple Genetic Input Required
General
notion of single-gene disease solution shot down
BETHESDA, Md. (Jan. 19, 2005) � So much for the genetic
rifle shot approach to solving and curing human disease.
Researchers led by a Brigham and Women�s
Hospital/Harvard Medical School team found that wheezing -- a key
physiological component of asthma -- requires the interaction of genes in
several locations. The work, involving multiple independent verification,
demonstrates the complexity of the genetic predisposition to asthma.
The study, �Interacting genetic loci cause airway
hyperresponsiveness,� appears online in Physiological Genomics,
published by the American Physiological Society.
�We know that there are both genetic and environmental
factors that cause people to develop asthma,� Dr. Kate G. Ackerman, the lead
researcher, stated. �We have now shown that the genetic inheritance of
wheezing, one component of asthma, is extremely complex in our model. This
suggests that the discovery of these genes in the human population will be
difficult and will require a multi-locus approach.�
After the study on the airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR)
trait, Dr. David R. Beier, the laboratory leader, said: �In the specific
case of asthma, hopefully these results will direct human studies to look
for genetic influences in a combinatorial fashion.� Using an elaborate mouse
model, the researchers found that the wheezing trait unambiguously required
the interaction of loci on different chromosomes, yet analysis of the
individual chromosomes showed no significant association with wheezing. (A
locus is a site on a
chromosome
where the
gene for a
particular
trait is
located.)
Research was supported by several grants from the
National Institutes of Health.
Editor�s note: A copy of the research paper by
Ackerman et al. is available to the media. To obtain an electronic version
and interview members of the research team, please contact Mayer Resnick at
the American Physiological Society, 301.634.7209, cell 301.332.4402 or
[email protected].
* * *
The
American Physiological Society was founded in 1887 to foster basic and
applied bioscience. The Bethesda, Maryland-based society has more than
10,000 members and publishes 14 peer-reviewed journals containing almost
4,000 articles annually.
APS
provides a wide range of research, educational and career support and
programming to further the contributions of physiology to understanding the
mechanisms of diseased and healthy states. In May, APS received
the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science,
Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM).
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