Scientists pinpoint genetic risk factors for asthma, hay fever and eczema

A major
international study has pinpointed more than 100 genetic risk factors that
explain why some people suffer from asthma, hay fever and eczema.

The study was led
by a team of scientists, including Dr Manuel Ferreira from QIMR Berghofer
Medical Research Institute, Brisbane Australia and Dr Lavinia Paternoster, MRC
Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, UK. It has been published
in the prestigious journal
Nature
Genetics.

Dr Ferreira said
this was the first study designed specifically to find genetic risk factors
that are shared among the three most common allergic conditions:

“Asthma, hay fever
and eczema are allergic diseases that affect different parts of the body: the
lungs, the nose and the skin. We already knew
that they were similar at many levels. For example, we knew that the three
diseases shared many genetic risk factors. What we didn’t know was exactly
where in the genome those shared genetic risk factors were located.

“This is important
to know because it tells us which specific genes, when not working properly,
cause allergic conditions. This knowledge helps us understand why allergies
develop in the first place and, potentially, gives us new clues on how they
could be prevented or treated.

“We analysed the
genomes of 360,838 people and pinpointed 136 separate positions in the genome
that are risk factors for developing these conditions.

“If you are unlucky
and inherit these genetic risk factors from your parents, it will predispose
you to all three allergic conditions.”

Senior author, Dr
Paternoster said:

“This study has been a huge international effort, bringing
together scientists and data from around the world, including the Children of
the 90s study based in Bristol.

“It’s really
exciting that we have been able to find so many genetic variants that influence
these diseases which affect so many people.

“Some of the genes
implicated in our study already have drugs available that can target them. So
these drugs (currently used for other conditions) may be effective in treating
allergic conditions. The next step is to test these in the laboratory.”

The study involved
collaborators from Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the UK
and the US.

Paper

‘Shared
genetic origin of asthma, hay fever and eczema elucidates allergic disease
biology’ by Manuel A Ferreira et al in
Nature Genetics.