Strong Association of STIP1 Gene rs2236647 Polymorphism and Serum Magnesium Level with Bronchial Asthma in a Population from Iraq

Bronchial asthma causes the airways of lungs to constrict and enlarge and create an overload of mucus, which makes it harder to breathe. The STIP1 gene polymorphisms have recently been linked to asthma by some researchers. The goal of this study was to whether there is an association between an SNP (rs2236647) in the STIP1 gene and asthma, as well as to see if blood magnesium level is linked to bronchial asthma in the Iraqi population. A total of 80 subjects were enrolled in the study, including 40 bronchial asthma sufferers and 40 healthy controls. The mean age of patients diagnosed with bronchial asthma was 35.7±11.2 years, while the average age of the control group was 34.1±9.1 years. The mean magnesium level in people with asthma (1.75 mg/dl) was lower than that of the controls (2.10 mg/dl), however, the difference was not statistically significant (p value= 0.07). A significant genetic relationship was discovered between the rs2236647 CT and T allele of STIP1 gene and bronchial asthma in the studied population (p=0.001). Furthermore, allelic interaction model analysis revealed that the T allele is dominant on the C allele and the heterozygote genotype CT might be over-dominant on the homozygote genotypes TT and CC. Overall, we found that the CT genotype and T allele of the rs2236647 of the STIP1 gene and lower levels of blood magnesium might be considered risk factors for bronchial asthma.