title: Association of TLR4-T399I polymorphism with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in smokers.
abstract: Tobacco smoking has been considered the most important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development. However, not all smokers develop COPD and other environmental and genetic susceptibility factors underlie disease pathogenesis. Recent studies have indicated that the impairment of TLR signaling might play a crucial role in the development of emphysema. For this purpose we investigated the prevalence and any possible associations of common TLR polymorphisms (TLR2-R753Q, TLR4-D299G, and TLR4-T399I) in a group of 240 heavy smokers (>20 pack years), without overt atherosclerosis disease, of whom 136 had developed COPD and 104 had not. The presence of TLR4-T399I polymorphism was associated with a 2.4-fold increased risk for COPD development (P = .044), but not with disease stage or frequency of exacerbations. Considering that infections contribute to COPD and emphysema pathogenesis, our findings possibly indicate that dysfunctional polymorphisms of innate immune genes can affect the development of COPD in smokers. Although this finding warrants further investigation, it highlights the importance of impaired innate immunity towards COPD development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Histocompatibility, University of Thessaly Medical School, 41110 Larissa, Greece. maspel@med.uth.gr
authors.forename: Matthaios
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Speletas
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Merentiti
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kostikas
authors.forename: Kyriaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liadaki
authors.forename: Markos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minas
authors.forename: Konstantinos
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gourgoulianis
authors.forename: Anastasios E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Germenis
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015995:Prevalence; D029424:Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C495345:TLR4 protein, human; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4