title: Familial Mediterranean fever gene and protection against asthma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is an inflammatory airway disease caused by interaction between susceptibility genes and diverse environmental factors. In Israel, asthma seems to be familial and more severe in patients of Iraqi Jewish descent. On the other hand, asthma is less frequent in individuals with familial Mediterranean fever, an autoinflammatory disease prevalent in the Iraqi Jewish community and linked to mutations in the familial Mediterranean fever gene, designated MEFV.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore a possible role for mutated MEFV in the reduced susceptibility to asthma and to determine its expression in Israeli subjects of Iraqi origins.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a case-control approach, we studied the presence of the 3 most common MEFV mutations (M694V, V726A, and E148Q) in DNA samples from 75 patients with asthma and 45 asymptomatic first-degree relatives, all of Iraqi Jewish origin. The severity of asthma was evaluated using a published severity score.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven patients with asthma and 14 of their relatives carried 1 or 2 mutations in the MEFV gene, a carrier rate significantly lower in patients with asthma than in their first-degree relatives and in ethnically matched healthy individuals (P < .03 and P < .003, respectively). Carriers of MEFV mutations had less severe disease, compared with noncarriers (P < .002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that MEFV mutations may have a protective effect in the pathogenesis of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Heller Institute of Medical Research, Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, Israel.
authors.forename: Einat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rabinovitch
authors.forename: Dror
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harats
authors.forename: Pnina
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yaron
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Luvish
authors.forename: Merav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lidar
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kedem
authors.forename: Aviv
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shaish
authors.forename: Issahar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ben-Dov
authors.forename: Avi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Livneh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D010505:Familial Mediterranean Fever / Q000208:ethnology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007493:Iraq / Q000208:ethnology; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D017354:Point Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
chemical_list: D004247:DNA