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Identifying mechanistic indicators of childhood asthma from blood gene expression
Citation:
EDWARDS, S. W., D. REIF, C. WILLIAMS, B. HEIDENFELDER, E. E. HUDGENS, L. M. NEAS, E. A. COHEN-HUBAL, AND J. GALLAGHER. Identifying mechanistic indicators of childhood asthma from blood gene expression. Presented at Society for Risk Analysis, Baltimore, MD, December 06 - 09, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
The results from this study should provide the mechanistic context for interpreting genetic determinants of asthma and identify potential bioindicators for distinguishing mechanistically distince asthma subtypes when studying the efects of air pollutants.
Description:
Asthmatic individuals have been identified as a susceptible subpopulation for air pollutants. However, asthma represents a syndrome with multiple probable etiologies, and the identification of these asthma endotypes is critical to accurately define the most susceptible subpopulations. The Mechanistic Indicators of Childhood Asthma (MICA) study incorporates genomics data from rodents and humans, together with phenotypic measurements, to determine these underlying endotypes and identify potential bioindicators for each. Gene expression was measured in blood collected from children participating in a case/control asthma study in Detroit. Transcriptional changes were related to common environmental and clinical indicators from blood to identify informative bioindicators to distinguish asmthatics with different etiologies. A parallel study using allergen sensitized Brown Norway rats included expression data from both blood and lung thereby establishing the relationship between transcriptional changes in the blood and corresponding changes in the target tissue. The results from this study should provide the mechanistic context for interpreting genetic determinants of asthma and identify potential bioindicators for distinguishing mechanistically distinct asmtha subtypes when studying the effects of air pollutants.