title: Palm dermatoglyphs and interleukin-4 receptor polymorphisms in asthma.
abstract: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin-4 receptor (IL-4R) gene have been identified as having a close association with asthma severity in different populations. In our previous studies, a close association between asthma and a distinctive palm dermatoglyphic pattern was observed; however, the clinical implication and underlying genetic mechanisms of this particular palm pattern have not been clarified. Whether this particular palm pattern is associated with asthma severity and IL-4R SNPs was assessed in the present study. A case cohort study was conducted in 400 patients with allergic asthma and in 200 healthy controls. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes for analysis of 11 IL-4R SNPs associated with asthma via polymerase chain reaction. There are two SNPs, rs1805012 and rs3024608, which are associated with asthma (rs1805012, dominant model; P=0.03 and rs3024608, codominant model; P=0.029), and two SNPs, rs1805010 and rs3024608, which are associated with the positive palm pattern (rs1805010, log-additive model; P=0.031 and rs3024608, codominant model; P=0.016). The SNP of rs3024608 is associated with asthma and the positive palm pattern. Thus, genetic variation in IL-4R may be associated with the development of asthma and the distinctive palm pattern; however, further investigations are required to identify the connection between asthma and palm dermatoglyphic patterns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lixin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Qingdao Haici Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong 266033, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Weilin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Qingdao Haici Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong 266033, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhaoshan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Medicine, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Han
keywords: asthma; dermatoglyphics; interleukin; palm; polymorphisms