Abstract
Vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphisms have been implicated in several immune and inflammatory disorders characterized by an imbalance in Th1/Th2 cell activity. Because asthma is characterized by a shift of Th cell responses toward type2, VDR presents itself to be a candidate gene for asthma susceptibility.
In the present study, we investigated the associations of the VDR-Fok-I (F/f) polymorphism with risk of childhood asthma, severity, passive smoke and atopy in Tunisia using case-control study.
Our population consisted in 212 asthmatic children and 152 healthy paediatric controls. Genotyping of VDR-Fok-I (F/f) polymorphism was performed using PCR -Restriction Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis.
The case-control study revealed a protective effect of VDR-Fok-I “f” allele in childhood asthma: The VDR-Fok-I (f/f) genotype were less frequent in children with asthma than in healthy individuals (P=0.01; χ2=8.12). And therefore the VDR-Fok-I (f) allele was less frequent in the case than in the control subjects (p=0.006; OR=0.64; 95% CI= 0.46-0.89; χ2=7.42). No association was demonstrated with VDR-Fok-I (F/f) polymorphism with severity, atopy or passive smoke.
These data suggest a strong association of VDR-Fok-I polymorphism with asthma in Tunisia. Therefore, the VDR and vitamin D may be involved in the pathogenesis of childhood asthma disease in our population.
- © 2011 ERS
