Present status on the genetic studies of asthma

Asthma, one of the most common chronic diseases, is a complex and heterogeneous disorder. The results of genome screens for asthma-related traits in 11 different populations identified at least 18 regions of the genome that probably house asthma/atopy genes. The most consistently replicated regions are on chromosomes 2q, 5q, 6p, 12q and 13q. Positional cloning projects are ongoing in laboratories around the world to identify the asthma susceptibility loci in these regions. In addition, many candidate genes have been associated with asthma phenotypes, such as the genes in the IL-4/IL-13 pathway.