德國格賴夫斯瓦爾德大學2月25日發(fā)表公報說,，該大學參與的一項研究新發(fā)現(xiàn)了5個影響肺功能的基因。這一成果將有助于理解慢性阻塞性肺病的致病機理并改善其治療方法,。
慢性阻塞性肺病包括慢性支氣管炎和肺氣腫等病癥，其最重要的致病誘因是吸煙,。據(jù)統(tǒng)計，40歲以上的成年人中每10人就有1人患有慢性阻塞性肺病,。由于這種疾病呈現(xiàn)出一定程度的家族性,，學界猜測這種疾病也可能與基因變異有關(guān)。
由格賴夫斯瓦爾德大學科學家參加的一個國際研究小組對超過2萬人進行了檢查,，將人類基因組中不同區(qū)域的基因變異與受檢者的肺功能測量值進行聯(lián)系和比較分析,，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)TNS1、GSTCD,、HTR4,、THSD4和AGER5個基因的變異與肺功能改變相關(guān),，并通過另一項基因組相關(guān)性研究證實了上述結(jié)果的有效性。
研究人員指出,，這一成果對深入探尋慢性阻塞性肺病的致病機理和改善其療法有著重要意義,。該研究已發(fā)表在英國《自然—遺傳學》（Nature Genetics）雜志上。(生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Nature Genetics doi:10.1038/ng0110-14
Lung function and airway diseases
Scott T Weiss
Scott T. Weiss is at Harvard Medical School, Center for Genomic Medicine, and the Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Two studies report genome-wide association studies for lung function, using cross-sectional spirometric measurements in healthy individuals. They identify six genetic loci newly associated to natural variation in lung function, which may have implications for the related airway diseases of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Asthma is a clinical syndrome defined by spontaneous or chemically induced increased airway responsiveness (bronchoconstriction) and reversible airflow obstruction (bronchodilation) with airway inflammation, often allergic in nature. In contrast, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an airway disease with inflammation, but here the source of the inflammation is usually cigarette smoking, and it is defined by fixed, rather than reversible, airflow obstruction1.
