What genes tell us about the pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Recently a series of genome-wide association study manuscripts in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been published. These papers suggest that, in part, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have a common genetic origin, and that this common origin is due to polymorphism in genes that are involved with the development of the lung. This Pulmonary Perspective discusses what we are learning from genome-wide association studies, where the field of genetics and genomics is headed, and how this knowledge will ultimately be put to use in clinical medicine.
Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. scott.weiss@channing.harvard.edu
Scott T
ST
Weiss
D001249:Asthma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D015894:Genome, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology / Q000503:physiopathology; D053508:Matrix Metalloproteinase 12 / Q000235:genetics; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics; D010641:Phenotype; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014797:Vital Capacity; D000979:alpha-2-Antiplasmin / Q000235:genetics
D002352:Carrier Proteins; C117596:HHIP protein, human; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D000979:alpha-2-Antiplasmin; C507122:MMP12 protein, human; D053508:Matrix Metalloproteinase 12