Amaral, A. F., Minelli, C., Guerra, S., Wjst, M., Probst-Hensch, N., Pin, I., Svanes, C., Janson, C., Heinrich, J., & Jarvis, D. L. (2015). The locus C11orf30 increases susceptibility to poly-sensitization. Allergy, 70(3), 328-33.
A number of genetic variants have been associated with allergic sensitization, but whether these are allergen specific or increase susceptibility to poly-sensitization is unknown. Using data from the large multicentre population-based European Community Respiratory Health Survey, we assessed the association between 10 loci and specific IgE and skin prick tests to individual allergens and poly-sensitization. We found that the 10 loci associate with sensitization to different allergens in a nonspecific manner and that one in particular, C11orf30-rs2155219, doubles the risk of poly-sensitization (specific IgE/4 allergens: OR = 1.81, 95% CI 0.80-4.24; skin prick test/4+ allergens: OR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.34-3.95). The association of rs2155219 with higher levels of expression of C11orf30, which may be involved in transcription repression of interferon-stimulated genes, and its association with sensitization to multiple allergens suggest that this locus is highly relevant for atopy.
Zhai, J., Stern, D., Sherrill, D., Spangenberg, A., Wright, A., Morgan, W., Halonen, M., Martinez, F., & Guerra, S. (2017). Trajectories and early determinants of circulating CC16 from birth to age 32 years. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
Huang, S., Vasquez, M. M., Halonen, M., Martinez, F. D., & Guerra, S. (2015). Asthma, airflow limitation and mortality risk in the general population. The European respiratory journal, 45(2), 338-46.
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease co-exist in a significant proportion of patients. Whether asthma increases mortality risk among subjects with airflow limitation remains controversial. We used data from 2121 adult participants in the population-based Tucson Epidemiological Study of Airway Obstructive Disease cohort. At enrolment (1972-1973), participants completed questionnaires and lung function tests. Participants were categorised into four groups based on the combination of airflow limitation (AL; forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) 70%) and physician-confirmed asthma at baseline. Vital status as of January 2011 was assessed through the National Death Index. Cox proportional hazards models were used to test differences in mortality risk across the four airflow limitation/asthma groups. In multivariate Cox models, the AL+/asthma+ group had a 114% increased mortality risk during follow-up compared with the AL-/asthma- group (adjusted HR 2.14; 95% CI 1.64-2.79). The corresponding hazard ratios were 1.09 (95% CI 0.89-1.34) and 1.34 (95% CI 1.14-1.57) for the AL-/asthma+ and AL+/asthma- groups, respectively. Among subjects with airflow limitation, asthma was associated with increased mortality risk (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.17-2.12). However, this increased risk was substantially reduced and no longer significant after further adjustment for baseline FEV1 levels. Similar results were obtained when airflow limitation was defined as FEV1/FVC less than the lower limit of normal. In a population-based cohort, subjects with concomitant airflow limitation and asthma had an increased risk of dying, which was mainly related to their baseline lung function deficits.
Melén, E., & Guerra, S. (2017). Recent advances in understanding lung function development. F1000Research, 6, 726.
Recent years have witnessed critical contributions to our understanding of the determinants and long-term implications of lung function development. In this article, we review studies that have contributed to advances in understanding lung function development and its critical importance for lung health into adult life. In particular, we have focused on early life determinants that include genetic factors, perinatal events, environmental exposures, lifestyle, infancy lower respiratory tract infections, and persistent asthma phenotypes. Longitudinal studies have conclusively demonstrated that lung function deficits that are established by school age may track into adult life and increase the risk of adult lung obstructive diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Furthermore, these contributions have provided initial evidence in support of a direct influence by early life events on an accelerated decline of lung function and an increased susceptibility to its environmental determinants well into adult life. As such, we argue that future health-care programs based on precision medicine approaches that integrate deep phenotyping with tailored medication and advice to patients should also foster optimal lung function growth to be fully effective.
Guerra, S., Melén, E., Sunyer, J., Xu, C. J., Lavi, I., Benet, M., Bustamante, M., Carsin, A. E., Dobaño, C., Guxens, M., Tischer, C., Vrijheid, M., Kull, I., Bergström, A., Kumar, A., Söderhäll, C., Gehring, U., Dijkstra, D. J., van der Vlies, P., , Wickman, M., et al. (2017). Genetic and epigenetic regulation of YKL-40 in childhood. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology.
Circulating levels of the chitinase-like protein YKL-40 are influenced by genetic variation in its encoding gene (chitinase 3-like 1 [CHI3L1]) and are increased in patients with several diseases, including asthma. Epigenetic regulation of circulating YKL-40 early in life is unknown.
