Relationship between bronchial asthma and glucocorticoid receptor gene bcl-I single nucleotide polymorphism

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between bronchial asthma in children and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene bcl-I single nucleotide polymorphism and to analyze the relationship between bronchial asthma and the plasma cortisol level. 

Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) techniques were used to determine the GR gene bcl-I single nucleotide polymorphism in 76 children patients with asthma and 50 healthy controls. The plasma cortisol levels were detected by radio immunoassay in two groups respectively.

Results: There were three genotypes found in bcl-I gene locus of these two groups, which were genotype CC, GG and CG. The frequencies of CC, CG, GG genotypes were 48.7%, 27.6%, 23.7% in the asthma group and 76%, 20%, 4% in the control group. The difference was of statistical significance (p < .05). The frequency of G allele in the asthma group was 37.5%, which was significantly higher than 14% in the control group (p < .05), indicating that G allele was associated with asthma.

Conclusions: GR gene bcl-I polymorphism is significantly associated with the occurrence of bronchial asthma. G allele may be a susceptibility gene for steroid-resistance in asthma. Steroid-resistance has no correlation to the plasma cortisol level.