Identification of KIF3A as a Novel Candidate Gene for Childhood Asthma Using RNA Expression and Population Allelic Frequencies Differences

2011

Identifying KIF3A as a Gene Linked to Childhood Asthma

Sample size: 790 publication 10 minutes Evidence: high

Author Information

Author(s): Butsch Kovacic Melinda, Biagini Myers Jocelyn M., Wang Ning, Martin Lisa J., Lindsey Mark, Ericksen Mark B., He Hua, Patterson Tia L., Baye Tesfaye M., Torgerson Dara, Roth Lindsey A., Gupta Jayanta, Sivaprasad Umasundari, Gibson Aaron M., Tsoras Anna M., Hu Donglei, Eng Celeste, Chapela Rocío, Rodríguez-Santana José R., Rodríguez-Cintrón William, Avila Pedro C., Beckman Kenneth, Seibold Max A., Gignoux Chris, Musaad Salma M., Chen Weiguo, Burchard Esteban González, Khurana Hershey Gurjit K.

Primary Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Hypothesis

Specific alleles in genes with large inter-population frequency differences might be partly responsible for variations in asthma susceptibility.

Conclusion

KIF3A is a novel candidate gene for childhood asthma, with polymorphisms potentially affecting mucus and allergen clearance from the airways.

Supporting Evidence

SNPs in KIF3A were significantly associated with asthma in the discovery population.
Seven of nine KIF3A SNPs showed more than double the odds of asthma.
KIF3A expression was down-regulated in nasal epithelial cells from asthmatic children.
The association with KIF3A was validated in three independent populations.
KIF3A rs7737031 has an asthma population attributable risk of 18.5%.
Polymorphisms in KIF3A may contribute to poor mucus clearance in asthmatics.
All six identified genes were nominally associated with pediatric asthma.

Takeaway

Researchers found a gene called KIF3A that may make kids more likely to have asthma. This gene helps clear stuff from the lungs, and if it doesn't work well, it could lead to asthma problems.