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Published on: June 21, 2018
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Unraveling shared genetics across asthma subtypes and 81 asthma-related traits
Raphaël Vernet1, Christophe Linhard1, Anja Estermann1
1Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), HealthFex, Group of Genomic Epidemiology of Multifactorial Diseases, Université Paris Cité, Paris, France.
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|September 14, 2025
Summary
Asthma heterogeneity is explained by shared genetics. Different asthma subtypes link to specific traits like IgE, BMI, and lung function, revealing distinct genetic architectures.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Pulmonology
- Immunology
Background:
- Asthma exhibits significant clinical and biological heterogeneity.
- Understanding this heterogeneity is crucial for targeted therapies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the shared genetics underlying different asthma subtypes.
- To explore genetic overlaps between asthma subtypes and various asthma-related traits.
Main Methods:
- Compiled a database of 254 genome-wide association study datasets for asthma and related traits.
- Performed meta-analyses for asthma-related traits.
- Utilized MiXeR software and linkage disequilibrium score regression to identify shared loci and estimate genetic correlations (rg).
Main Results:
- Asthma-associated loci are more pleiotropic than non-asthma loci.
- Childhood-onset asthma shows higher heritability and strong genetic overlap with IgE.
- Adult-onset asthma shares genetic variants with body mass index and lung function (FEV1).
- Moderate-to-severe asthma is genetically linked to hepatocyte growth factor.
Conclusions:
- Distinct genetic architectures underpin different asthma subtypes.
- These findings illuminate the pathophysiological mechanisms driving asthma heterogeneity.
- Identifying subtype-specific genetic links can inform future treatment strategies.
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