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What Ancestry Can Tell Us About the Genetic Origins of Inter-Ethnic Differences in Asthma Expression

  • Asthma (WJ Calhoun and V Ortega, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Differences in asthma prevalence have been described across different populations, suggesting that genetic ancestry can play an important role in this disease. In fact, several studies have demonstrated an association between African ancestry with increased asthma susceptibility and severity, higher immunoglobulin E levels, and lower lung function. In contrast, Native American ancestry has been shown to have a protective role for this disease. Genome-wide association studies have allowed the identification of population-specific genetic variants with varying allele frequency among populations. Additionally, the correlation of genetic ancestry at the chromosomal level with asthma and related traits by means of admixture mapping has revealed regions of the genome where ancestry is correlated with the disease. In this review, we discuss the evidence supporting the association of genetic ancestry with asthma susceptibility and asthma-related traits, and highlight the regions of the genome harboring ancestry-specific genetic risk factors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Unit, Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, Carretera del Rosario 145, 38010, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

    Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco, Carlos Flores & Maria Pino-Yanes

  2. Applied Genomics Group (G2A), Section of Genetics, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, Cell Biology and Genetics, Universidad de La Laguna, Astrofísico Francisco Sánchez S/N., 38206, San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    Natalia Hernandez-Pacheco

  3. CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Av. Monforte de Lemos, 3-5, Pabellón 11, Planta 0, 28029, Madrid, Spain

    Carlos Flores & Maria Pino-Yanes

  4. Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA

    Sam S. Oh & Esteban G. Burchard

  5. Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA

    Esteban G. Burchard

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Ms. Hernandez-Pacheco and Drs. Flores, Oh, and Burchard declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript. Dr. Pino-Yanes was supported by grant AC15/00015 by Instituto de Salud Carlos III within the ERACoSysMed 1st Joint Transnational Call (SysPharmPedia 99) from the European Union, under Horizon 2020.

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Hernandez-Pacheco, N., Flores, C., Oh, S.S. et al. What Ancestry Can Tell Us About the Genetic Origins of Inter-Ethnic Differences in Asthma Expression. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16, 53 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0635-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0635-4

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