TY - JOUR T1 - Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor polymorphisms and airway remodelling in asthma JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 1568 LP - 1571 DO - 10.1183/13993003.01571-2015 VL - 47 IS - 5 AU - Despo Ierodiakonou AU - Michael A. Portelli AU - Dirkje S. Postma AU - Gerard H. Koppelman AU - Jorrit Gerritsen AU - Nick H.T. ten Hacken AU - Wim Timens AU - H. Marike Boezen AU - Judith M. Vonk AU - Ian Sayers Y1 - 2016/05/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/47/5/1568.abstract N2 - In the past decade, several asthma genes have been identified [1]; however, the key challenge is to determine how these genetic changes contribute to the underlying lung biology. We identified the urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (PLAUR) as an asthma susceptibility gene by positional cloning [2]. We showed that the same single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with soluble PLAUR levels in blood, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and accelerated lung function decline in asthma; a clinical feature linked to airway wall remodelling [2]. Therefore, we hypothesised that PLAUR may contribute to structural changes in asthma via increased levels of the membrane bound or soluble receptor. We subsequently showed that PLAUR levels were elevated in the airway epithelium of asthma patients and that PLAUR has a role in epithelial repair responses [3]. The aim of the current study was to 1) test for association between PLAUR SNPs and markers of airway remodelling using bronchial biopsies from asthma patients; and 2) test for association between SNPs and staining for PLAUR in airway tissue.PLAUR polymorphisms and levels are associated with markers of airway remodelling in lung biopsies of asthma patients http://ow.ly/X5Srl ER -