Analyses for association between nasal allergy and candidate genes for atopy

IgE高亲和力受体β链基因（FcεRIβ）和白细胞介素-4（IL-4）基因已被提议为特应性的候选基因。FcεRIβ的编码变体Glu 237 Gly以及IL-4的启动子变体-524C/T在不同的哮喘和特应性人群中进行了研究，结果对于该变体与特应性/哮喘的关联存在争议。由于鼻变态反应是一种更常见的特应性疾病，并且比哮喘表现出更少的缓解，我们的目的是分析这些基因多态性是否与鼻变态反应相关。在这项研究中，我们招募了233名鼻过敏患者和100名对照受试者。此外，还选择了三个亚组：常年性鼻变态反应患者（n=149）、日本雪松花粉症患者（n= 189）和对多种过敏原过敏的患者（n=45）。Gly 237等位基因频率在对照组和患者组分别为0.14和0.20，Gly 237阳性者的频率分别为0.23和0.356。χ^2检验显示Gly 237阳性受试者与鼻变态反应（p<0.05）、常年性鼻变态反应（p<0.05）、日本雪松花粉症（p<0.05）和对多种变应原的变态反应（p<0.001）之间存在显著相关性。相反，IL-4的启动子变体显示与鼻变态反应无关。在所有333名受试者中，我们观察到Gly 237与血清总IgE水平升高（>250 IU/ml，p<0.05）和非常高的IgE水平（>1000 IU/ml，p<0.001）之间的关系。在特异性IgE阳性的患者中，Gly 237与HD（p<0.05）、螨（p<0.05）和日本雪松花粉（p<0.05）的高IgE相关。这些结果表明，FcεRIβ基因的Glu 237 Gly变体通过产生特异性和非特异性IgE抗体的过程参与鼻变态反应的发生。

The gene for the beta chain of the high-affinity receptor for IgE (FcεRIβ) and the gene for Interleukin-4 (IL-4) have been proposed as candidate genes for atopy. A coding variant Glu237Gly of FcεRIβ as well as a promoter variant -524C/T of IL-4 has been studied in various populations with asthma and atopy, and the results were controversial for association of the variant with atopy/ asthma. Because nasal allergy is a more common atopic disease and shows less remission than asthma, we aimed to analyze whether these genetic polymorphisms correlate with nasal allergy. For this study, we enrolled 233 patients with nasal allergy and 100 control subjects. Further, three subgroups were selected : patients with perennial nasal allergy (n=149), Japanese cedar pollinosis (n=l89), and allergy to multiple allergens (n=45). The allele frequency of Gly237 in the controls and patients was 0.14 and 0.20, and the frequency of Gly237-positive subjects was 0.23 and 0.356, respectively. The χ^2 test showed significant association between Gly237-positive subjects and nasal allergy (p<0.05), perennial nasal allergy (p<0.05), Japanese cedar pollinosis (p<0.05), and allergy to multiple allergens (p<0.001). In contrast, the promoter variant of IL-4 showed no association with nasal allergy. Among all 333 subjects, we observed a relationship between Gly237 and elevated levels of serum total IgE (>250 IU/ml, p<0.05) and very high IgE (>1000 lU/ml, p<0.001). Among patients positive for a specific IgE, Gly237 was associated with high IgE for HD (p<0.05), mite (p<0.05), and Japanese cedar pollen (p<0.05). These results suggest that the Glu237Gly variant of the FcεRIβ gene is involved in the development of nasal allergy through the process for the production of specific as well as non-specific IgE antibodies.