Rationale: Maternal vitamin D intake during pregnancy has been inversely associated with asthma symptoms in early childhood. However, no study has examined the relationship between measured vitamin D levels and markers of asthma severity in childhood. Objectives: To determine the relationship between measured vitamin D levels and both markers of asthma severity and allergy in childhood. Methods: We examined the relation between 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels (the major circulating form of vitamin D) and markers of allergy and asthma severity in a cross-sectional study of 616 Costa Rican children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. Linear, logistic, and negative binomial regressions were used for the univariate and multivariate analyses. Measurements and Main Results: Of the 616 children with asthma, 175 (28%) had insufficient levels of vitamin D (,30 ng/ml). In multivariate linear regression models, vitamin D levels were significantly and inversely associated with total IgE and eosinophil count. In multivariate logistic regression models, a log 10 unit increase in vitamin D levels was associated with reduced odds of any hospitalization in the previous year (odds ratio [OR], 0.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.004-0.71; P 5 0.03), any use of antiinflammatory medications in the previous year (OR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.05-0.67; P 5 0.01), and increased airway responsiveness (a <8.58-mmol provocative dose of methacholine producing a 20% fall in baseline FEV 1 [OR, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.024-0.97; P 5 0.05]). Conclusions: Our results suggest that vitamin D insufficiency is relatively frequent in an equatorial population of children with asthma. In these children, lower vitamin D levels are associated with increased markers of allergy and asthma severity.For unclear reasons, the prevalence of allergic diseases and asthma increased from a period likely preceding the 1960s to the 1990s (1). Worldwide surveys have shown that asthma prevalence is highest in industrialized nations (2). Although there is a trend for increased prevalence of asthma in countries farthest from the equator, some nations near the equator have high asthma prevalence (e.g., Costa Rica) (2).Results of some, but not all, epidemiologic studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is associated with an increased incidence of asthma symptoms (3-5). Our group has shown that higher maternal intakes of vitamin D during pregnancy are associated with decreased risks for recurrent wheeze in young children (6, 7), suggesting that vitamin D may play a role in the development of asthma. However, among those with established asthma, vitamin D may have a role in the manifestation of the disorder. Findings from in vitro studies (8) suggest that vitamin D may reverse steroid resistance in individuals with asthma, thus suggesting that vitamin D may play a role in the control of asthma. However, there has been no epidemiologic study of the relation between serum vitamin D levels and markers of asthma severity. The aim of the current analysis, therefore, was to examine the relationship ...

Common SNPs in the chromosome 17q12-q21 region alter the risk for asthma, type 1 diabetes, primary biliary cirrhosis, and Crohn disease. Previous reports by us and others have linked the disease-associated genetic variants with changes in expression of GSDMB and ORMDL3 transcripts in human lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). The variants also alter regulation of other transcripts, and this domain-wide cis-regulatory effect suggests a mechanism involving long-range chromatin interactions. Here, we further dissect the disease-linked haplotype and identify putative causal DNA variants via a combination of genetic and functional analyses. First, high-throughput resequencing of the region and genotyping of potential candidate variants were performed. Next, additional mapping of allelic expression differences in Yoruba HapMap LCLs allowed us to fine-map the basis of the cis-regulatory differences to a handful of candidate functional variants. Functional assays identified allele-specific differences in nucleosome distribution, an allele-specific association with the insulator protein CTCF, as well as a weak promoter activity for rs12936231. Overall, this study shows a common disease allele linked to changes in CTCF binding and nucleosome occupancy leading to altered domain-wide cis-regulation. Finally, a strong association between asthma and cis-regulatory haplotypes was observed in three independent family-based cohorts (p = 1.78 x 10(-8)). This study demonstrates the requirement of multiple parallel allele-specific tools for the investigation of noncoding disease variants and functional fine-mapping of human disease-associated haplotypes.

BACKGROUND Genetic variants influencing lung function in children and adults may ultimately lead to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly in high-risk groups. METHODS We tested for an association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the gene encoding matrix metalloproteinase 12 (MMP12) and a measure of lung function (prebronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1]) in more than 8300 subjects in seven cohorts that included children and adults. Within the Normative Aging Study (NAS), a cohort of initially healthy adult men, we tested for an association between SNPs that were associated with FEV1 and the time to the onset of COPD. We then examined the relationship between MMP12 SNPs and COPD in two cohorts of adults with COPD or at risk for COPD. RESULTS The minor allele (G) of a functional variant in the promoter region of MMP12 (rs2276109 [−82A→G]) was positively associated with FEV1 in a combined analysis of children with asthma and adult former and current smokers in all cohorts (P=2×10−6). This allele was also associated with a reduced risk of the onset of COPD in the NAS cohort (hazard ratio, 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.46 to 0.92; P = 0.02) and with a reduced risk of COPD in a cohort of smokers (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.88; P = 0.005) and among participants in a family-based study of early-onset COPD (P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS The minor allele of a SNP in MMP12 (rs2276109) is associated with a positive effect on lung function in children with asthma and in adults who smoke. This allele is also associated with a reduced risk of COPD in adult smokers.

Asthma, a chronic airway disease with known heritability, affects more than 300 million people around the world. A genome-wide association (GWA) study of asthma with 359 cases from the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP) and 846 genetically matched controls from the Illumina ICONdb public resource was performed. The strongest region of association seen was on chromosome 5q12 in PDE4D. The phosphodiesterase 4D, cAMP-specific (phosphodiesterase E3 dunce homolog, Drosophila) gene (PDE4D) is a regulator of airway smooth-muscle contractility, and PDE4 inhibitors have been developed as medications for asthma. Allelic p values for top SNPs in this region were 4.3 x 10(-07) for rs1588265 and 9.7 x 10(-07) for rs1544791. Replications were investigated in ten independent populations with different ethnicities, study designs, and definitions of asthma. In seven white and Hispanic replication populations, two PDE4D SNPs had significant results with p values less than 0.05, and five had results in the same direction as the original population but had p values greater than 0.05. Combined p values for 18,891 white and Hispanic individuals (4,342 cases) in our replication populations were 4.1 x 10(-04) for rs1588265 and 9.2 x 10(-04) for rs1544791. In three black replication populations, which had different linkage disequilibrium patterns than the other populations, original findings were not replicated. Further study of PDE4D variants might lead to improved understanding of the role of PDE4D in asthma pathophysiology and the efficacy of PDE4 inhibitor medications.

Background The relevance of allergic sensitization, judged by titers of serum IgE antibodies, to the risk of an asthma exacerbation caused by rhinovirus is unclear. Objective To examine the prevalence of rhinovirus infections in relation to the atopic status of children treated for wheezing in Costa Rica, a country with an increased asthma burden. Methods The children enrolled (n=287) were 7 through 12 years old. They included 96 with acute wheezing, 65 with stable asthma, and 126 non-asthmatic controls. PCR methods, including gene sequencing to identify rhinovirus strains, were used to identify viral pathogens in nasal washes. Results were examined in relation to wheezing, total IgE, allergen-specific IgE antibody, and levels of expired nitric oxide (FENO). Results Sixty-four percent of wheezing children compared to 13% of children with stable asthma and 17% of the non-asthmatic controls tested positive for rhinovirus (p<0.001 for both comparisons). Among wheezing subjects, 75% of the rhinoviruses detected were Group C strains. High titers of IgE antibodies to dust mite allergen (especially Dermatophagoides sp) were common and correlated significantly with levels of total IgE and FENO. The greatest risk for wheezing was observed among children with titers of IgE antibodies to dust mite ≥17.5 IU/ml who tested positive for rhinovirus (odds ratio for wheezing: 31.5; 95% CI 8.3–108, p<0.001). Conclusions High titers of IgE antibody to dust mite allergen were common and significantly increased the risk for acute wheezing provoked by rhinovirus among asthmatic children.