AllerGen investigators contribute to asthma genetics discovery
The world’s largest genetic study on asthma has identified five new genes associated with the condition and produced the most comprehensive list of genes and gene locations involved in the development of asthma and allergic disease.
These research results open the door to future studies, improved diagnostics and new treatment options, according to Dr. Denise Daley, the AllerGen investigator who led the Canadian arm of the international collaboration.
“Previously, only 21 genes had been found to be associated with asthma across roughly 20 studies, and they explained only part of the genetic risk for the condition,” says Dr. Daley.
“Thanks to this global collaboration, we have brought together data from more than 140,000 individuals of diverse ancestries, allowing us to develop a much fuller picture of how genetics influences asthma across different populations.”
The findings were published on 22 December 2017 in Nature Genetics.