Current opinion in allergy and clinical immunology
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Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol · Dec 2007
ReviewHost defense genes in asthma and sepsis and the role of the environment.
There is growing evidence that innate immunity genes contribute to asthma pathogenesis. At the core of the innate immune response are ubiquitous, soluble fragments of bacterial lipopolysaccharide or endotoxin, and chronic exposure to domestic endotoxin has been shown to influence asthma severity. Asthmatic and atopic individuals are more sensitive to endotoxin than nonallergic individuals, suggesting a role for genetics in the innate immunity response, and the potential for gene-environment interactions. Variants in genes associated with classic innate immunity-related disorders, such as sepsis, may be unique candidates for asthma susceptibility. ⋯ Collectively, these observations suggest a greater role for the innate immunity response in allergic asthma than previously assumed, and implicate host defense genes in disease pathology.