The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7253 p820
14 June 2003

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Nature Genetics abstract (more)

Gene discovery provides extra "dimension" to asthma knowledge

A gene that influences the development of asthma and allergies has been identified by British scientists.

The National Asthma Campaign, which funded part of this research, says that the discovery will improve understanding of asthma and could lead to the development of new treatments.

The gene, PhF11, appears to regulate the blood's B cells that produce immunoglobulin E, the antibody involved in allergic reactions. The genetic variants predisposing people to disease are most common in adults with severe asthma, but the gene may also be involved in milder forms of asthma and childhood eczema, according to the NAC. The advance may help researchers develop new treatments that could turn off the IgE reaction and prevent allergic disease, it adds.

Professor William Cookson from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, Oxford, is one of the study's authors. He commented: "The understanding is still incomplete. There are about 10 genes that have a significant effect on a person's susceptibility to asthma."

He explained that only around half these genes had already been identified, adding that it was likely that all the important genes would be found in the next three years. Even so, the challenge of translating genetic findings into new treatments "will not be accomplished overnight", Professor Cookson added. The study is published in Nature Genetics (2003;34:181).