Department of Internal Medicine, Pneumology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
Laboratory of Clinical Immunology, L. Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Science and Lower Silesian Cell Transplant Centre and National Bank of Bone Marrow Donors, Wroclaw, Poland.
J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2019;29(6):431-435. doi: 10.18176/jiaci.0369. Epub 2018 Dec 21.
While the importance of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the pathogenesis of several diseases (eg, neoplasms) has been proven, its role in asthma, especially in terms of the potential associations between genetic variants of VEGF and airway remodeling, has received relatively little attention. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the possible connection between a genetic factor, ie, the polymorphism del/ins in the VEGF promoter region, and airway remodeling potential in asthmatics with and without irreversible bronchoconstriction.
The study population comprised 82 patients with asthma (of whom 42 had irreversible bronchoconstriction) and a group of 40 controls. DNA was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes. Polymerase chain reaction was used to type the VEGF (18-bp deletion/insertion) gene polymorphism at loci -2549 -2567. Other factors (ie, smoking, disease duration) were also taken into consideration.
The del/del genotype was found in 74.39% of patients with asthma (P=.031; OR=2.38), 80.95% of patients with irreversible bronchoconstriction (P=.012; OR=3.48), and 67.5% patients with reversible bronchoconstriction (P=.251; OR=1.70). The proportion of smokers to nonsmokers was higher (P=.032) and disease duration was longer (P=.041) in patients with irreversible bronchoconstriction than in those with reversible bronchoconstriction.
Our results showed that the risk of irreversible bronchoconstriction in asthmatics was associated with the presence of the del18 genotype at the -2549 -2567 position in the promoter region of the VEGF gene, as were disease duration and other factors such as smoking.
虽然血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）在几种疾病（例如肿瘤）的发病机制中的重要性已得到证实，但它在哮喘中的作用，特别是在 VEGF 基因变异与气道重塑之间的潜在关联方面，尚未得到充分关注。
本研究旨在评估遗传因素，即 VEGF 启动子区域的多态性 del/ins，与有无不可逆性支气管痉挛的哮喘患者气道重塑潜能之间的可能联系。
研究人群包括 82 例哮喘患者（其中 42 例存在不可逆性支气管痉挛）和 40 名对照组。从外周血白细胞中分离 DNA。聚合酶链反应用于对 VEGF（18bp 缺失/插入）基因多态性在 -2549-2567 位进行分型。还考虑了其他因素（如吸烟、疾病持续时间）。
在哮喘患者中，del/del 基因型的检出率为 74.39%（P=.031；OR=2.38），在不可逆性支气管痉挛患者中为 80.95%（P=.012；OR=3.48），在可逆性支气管痉挛患者中为 67.5%（P=.251；OR=1.70）。与可逆性支气管痉挛患者相比，不可逆性支气管痉挛患者中吸烟者的比例更高（P=.032），疾病持续时间更长（P=.041）。
我们的结果表明，VEGF 基因启动子区域 -2549-2567 位缺失基因型的存在与哮喘患者不可逆性支气管痉挛的风险相关，与疾病持续时间以及吸烟等其他因素相关。
