Genetic Susceptibility to Chronic Beryllium Disease

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This research proposal will examine the role of host genetic factors in the adverse pulmonary effects of inhaled beryllium. Investigators have clearly demonstrated that only a portion of exposed workers develop chronic beryllium disease (CBD). The reason for the variability in response to inhaled beryllium is not known, but strong evidence suggests that inter-individual differences in the molecular coding for immune system proteins play a major role. Using a gene-by-gene research approach, investigators have shown that one or more nucleotide polymorphisms in HLA are significantly associated with the development of CBD. These molecular epidemiology studies have focused on genetic differences in the major histocompatiblity complex, thus ignoring the potential role of other genes to explain the variability in response to beryllium-induced CBD. Moreover, in addition to modifying genes, environmental factors such as dose and speciation of beryllium are believed to play significant roles in the induction of CBD. Thus, an understanding of the gene environment interaction is critical in clarifying the mechanism(s) of host response to beryllium exposure. A predictive genetic animal model of inter-individual variation for CBD will permit the dissection of the factors of genes and environment in CBD. Although genetic studies in mice and guinea pigs have previously suggested inter-strain variability in the response to beryllium, a systematic and complete genome wide search for susceptibility genes for CBD has not been conducted. We will directly address this research gap by examining the response of genetically homogeneous, inbred strains of mice exposed to beryllium using a murine model of beryllium-induced lung granulomas. The primary objectives of this project are: 1) to test the hypothesis that there is a genetic basis for the induction of CBD in response to inhalation of beryllium aerosols; 2) to quantify the contribution of genetic versus environmental factors; and 3) to identify candidate genes that play a critical role in the molecular pathways leading to CBD.