To the Editors:
We read with interest the article by Smith et al. [1], which showed a positive correlation between plasma soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE) and forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Here, we outline the results of recent genetic epidemiological studies that suggest the advanced glycosylation end product-specific receptor (AGER) gene, which encodes sRAGE, may also have a role in the development of COPD.
Two recent large genome-wide association (GWA) studies conclude that a locus on chromosome 6p21 is associated with lung function (FEV1 and FEV1/forced vital capacity) [2, 3], directly implicating the AGER gene, which is known to be expressed in alveolar epithelial cells [2]. However, this association was made in populations dominated by nonsmokers and did not specifically examine the effect in chronic smokers. We and others have …