The Genetics of Asthma

In Brief Researchers in the field of asthma genetics employ a broad variety of approaches to identify genes involved in asthma and its related phenotypes. Genome-wide screens identify chromosomal regions linked with disease in families from which candidate genes or positionally cloned genes are identified. Association studies then determine the significance of polymorphisms in these genes to particular phenotypes. However, genetic variation alone is clearly not sufficient to cause asthma and allergic disease, as an individual's susceptibility to develop these diseases is determined by a complex interplay between genes, environment, age, and ethnic background. This review summarizes the latest findings from genome-wide, candidate gene, and positional cloning studies and discusses the influence of environmental exposures, age, and ethnic background on the development of disease. This article reviews current approaches to the study of asthma genetics and summarizes the latest findings from genome-wide, candidate gene, and positional cloning studies. These are discussed in the context of the influence of environmental exposures, age, and ethnic background on the development of disease.