Glutathione S-Transferase Gene Associations and Gene-Environment Interactions for Asthma

AbstractPurpose of ReviewAsthma is one of the most common chronic inflammatory airway diseases. Airway oxidative stress is defined as an imbalance between oxidative and antioxidative processes in the airways. There is evidence that chronic damage caused by oxidative stress may be involved in asthmatic inflammation and reduced lung function. Given their biological antioxidant function, the antioxidant genes in theglutathione S-transferase (GST) family are believed to be associated with development and progression of asthma. This review aims to summarize evidence on the relationship betweenGST gene polymorphisms and asthma and interactions with environmental exposures.Recent FindingsThe current evidence on the association betweenGST genes and asthma is still weak or inconsistent. Failure to account for environmental exposures may explain the lack of consistency. It is highly likely that environmental exposures interact withGST genes involved in the antioxidant pathway. According to current knowledge, carriers ofGSTM1(rs366631)/T1(rs17856199) null genotypes andGSTP1 Val105 (rs1695) genotypes are more susceptible to environmental oxidative exposures and have a higher risk of asthma. Some doubt remains regarding the presence or absence of interactions with different environmental exposures in different study scenarios. TheGST-environment interaction may depend on exposure type, asthma phenotype or endotype, ethnics, and other complex gene-gene interaction. Future studies could be ...
Source: Current Allergy and Asthma Reports - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research