Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

Rapid Fractionation and Isolation of Whole Blood Components in Samples Obtained from a Community-based Setting
Published on: November 30, 2015
An environmental epigenetic study of ADRB2 5'-UTR methylation and childhood asthma severity
1Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Background:
Beta-2 adrenergic receptor (ADRB2) is the primary target of both short- and long-acting beta-agonist asthma medications. ADRB2 5'-UTR methylation changes in blood have the potential to act as a surrogate biomarker of responsiveness to beta-agonist treatment and childhood asthma severity.
Objective:
To study the association between ADRB2 5'-UTR methylation, NO (2) exposure and childhood asthma severity.
Methods:
We compared ADRB2 5'-UTR methylation levels in blood between 60 children with mild asthma and 122 children with severe asthma using methylation-specific PCR. We also investigated potential joint effects between NO (2) exposure and ADRB2 5'-UTR methylation.
Results:
We found a significant association between intermediate (OR: 4.11, 95% CI: 1.58-10.73) and high levels (OR: 7.63, 95% CI: 3.02-19.26) of ADRB2 methylation and severe childhood asthma. In addition, we found a significant association between indoor exposure to NO (2) , an air pollutant and known asthmogen, and severe asthma among children exhibiting high ADRB2 methylation (OR: 4.59, 95% CI: 1.03-20.55) but no association among children exhibiting low levels of ADRB2 methylation (OR: 0.35, 95% CI: 0.01-14.13).
Conclusions And Clinical Relevance:
These findings support the potential use of ADRB2 5'-UTR methylation as a biomarker of both asthma severity and risk for NO (2) -associated asthma exacerbations in children, and present the first evidence of an epigenetic link between an important environmental exposure and childhood asthma severity.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Asthma I: Introduction
Asthma-II: Pathophysiology and Classification
Additionally, environmental and genetic factors play crucial roles in determining an individual's susceptibility to asthma and the severity of their condition.
Critical processes in asthma pathophysiology include:
Epigenetic Regulation
X-chromosome...
Epigenetic Regulation
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Asthma-I: Introduction

