Association of the –1072G/a polymorphism in the LTC4S gene with asthma in an Indian population

Abstract

Background: Atopic asthma, the most common chronic disease affecting children and young adults, is a complex disorder with variable phenotypes. Cysteine leukotrienes (Cys-LTs) are powerful bronchoconstrictors and play a critical role in airway inflammation and remodeling that are characteristic of asthma. Objective: To investigate the association of ALOX5, LTC4S and CysLTR2 gene polymorphisms with atopic asthma in an Indian population. Methods: A total of 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within these genes were genotyped in a family-based cohort (n = 239) and a case-control cohort (139 cases and 194 controls) followed by association analyses. Results: We found a significant association of the –1072G/A (rs3776944) SNP with atopic asthma in the family-based association analysis (p = 0.0004). These results were also replicated in the case-control cohort (p = 0.009). The allele A was negatively associated with atopic asthma. We also noted a significant association in the two-locus (rs3776944G/A and rs730012A/C) haplotypic analysis of this gene both in the family-based (p = 0.03) and the case-control (p = 0.02) analyses. Conclusion: This study supports the role of the LTC4S gene polymorphism in genetic susceptibility to atopic asthma in an Indian population.