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Differences in microsatellite DNA level between asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

¹ Research Laboratory of Molecular Pulmonology, ² Dept of Thoracic Medicine, University of Crete Medical School, Iráklion, and, ³ Dept of Respiratory Medicine, University of Athens Medical School, Sotiria Chest Diseases Hospital, Athens, Greece, and ⁴ Meakins-Christie Laboratories, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

CORRESPONDENCE: N. M. Siafakas, Dept of Thoracic Medicine, University General Hospital, Medical School, University of Crete, 71110 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Fax: 30 81542650. E-mail: siafak{at}med.uoc.gr

Keywords: Chronic bronchitis, cigarette smoking, genetic susceptibility, genomic instability, somatic mutation, sputum

Received: November 1, 2005
Accepted April 21, 2006

Previous studies have shown that microsatellite (MS) DNA instability (MSI) is detectable in sputum cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether asthma and COPD could be distinguished at the MS DNA level.

DNA was extracted from sputum cells and white blood cells from 63 COPD patients, 60 non-COPD smokers, 36 asthmatics and 30 healthy nonsmokers. Ten MS markers located on chromosomes 2p, 5q, 6p, 10q, 13q, 14q and 17q were analysed.

No MSI was detected in non-COPD smokers or healthy nonsmokers. A significantly higher proportion of COPD patients exhibited MSI (49.2%) compared to asthmatics (22.2%). MSI was detected even in the mild stages of COPD (33.3%) and asthma (22.2%). No relationship was found between MSI and COPD severity. The most frequently affected marker was D14S588 (17.5% in COPD and 2.7% in asthma). The markers D6S344, G29802 [GenBank] and D13S71 showed alterations only in COPD, and G29802 [GenBank] was associated with a significantly decreased forced expiratory volume in one second FEV₁ (% predicted), whereas MSI in D6S344 was associated with a significantly higher FEV₁ (% pred).

The frequency of microsatellite instability was higher in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease than in asthma, and microsatellite instability in three workers showed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease specificity. However, further studies are needed to verify the differences between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma at the microsatellite level.

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