title: Pharmacogenomics of long-acting β2-agonists.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Long-acting β2-agonists are an effective class of drugs, when combined with inhaled corticosteroids, for reducing symptoms and exacerbations in patients with asthma that is not adequately controlled by inhaled corticosteroids alone. However, because this class of drugs has been associated with severe adverse events, including hospitalization and death in small numbers of patients, efforts to identify a pharmacogenetic profile for patients at risk has been diligently investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  The PubMed search engine of the National Library of Medicine was used to identify English-language and non-English language articles published from 1947 to March 2015 pertinent to asthma, pharmacogenomics, and long-acting β2-agonists. Keywords and topics included: asthma, asthma control, long-acting β2-agonists, salmeterol, formoterol, pharmacogenetics, and pharmacogenomics. This strategy was also used for the Cochrane Library Database and CINAHL. Reference types were randomized controlled trials, reviews, and editorials. Additional publications were culled from reference lists. The publications were reviewed by the authors and those most relevant were used to support the topics covered in this review.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children, who carry the ADRB2 Arg16Arg genotype, may be at greater risk than adults for severe adverse events. Rare ADRB2 variants appear to provide better clues for identifying the at-risk population of asthmatics.
authors.affiliation: a 1 Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research, Nemours Children's Specialty Care , 807 Children's Way, Jacksonville, FL, USA +1 904 697 3806 ; +1 904 697 3799 ; kathryn.blake@nemours.org.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blake
authors.affiliation: b 2 Center for Pharmacogenomics and Translational Research, Nemours Children's Specialty Care , 807 Children's Way, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lima
mesh_terms: D058666:Adrenergic beta-2 Receptor Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000328:Adult; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy; D002648:Child; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D010597:Pharmacogenetics; D018343:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C553443:ADRB2 protein, human; D058666:Adrenergic beta-2 Receptor Agonists; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D018343:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2
keywords: asthma; children; long-acting β2-agonists; pharmacogenomic; rare variants; serious adverse events