title: Association of ADAM33 polymorphisms with childhood asthma in a northern Chinese population.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Genetic factors contribute to the increasing incidence of childhood asthma. The ADAM33 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease domain-containing protein 33) gene, discovered through positional cloning, is the first to be associated with asthma and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. This case-control study conducted in a Han Chinese population in northern China compared the genotypes of child asthmatic patients to healthy controls for the presence of 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the ADAM33 gene.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study population was composed of 412 children with asthma and 397 healthy controls. We genotyped 6 SNPs (F+1, T+1, T2, T1, V4, and Q-1) of ADAM33 with the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Data were statistically analyzed to determine if an association existed between these genotypes and childhood asthma morbidity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Three SNPs (T+1, T1, and V4) and 4 haplotypes (H1, H3, H5, and H8) were strongly associated with childhood asthma in children of northern China compared to healthy controls (P<0.05), whereas the other tested SNPs and haplotypes demonstrated no significant relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ADAM33 gene plays an important role in facilitating susceptibility to childhood asthma in this Han Chinese population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150081, China. qsq1962@yahoo.com.cn
authors.forename: Shuqiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Donglin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Chi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yao
mesh_terms: D051722:ADAM Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000235:genetics; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006239:Haplotypes; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
chemical_list: D051722:ADAM Proteins; C450441:ADAM33 protein, human