Cited by 565Asthma and respiratory diseasesGenetic Associations and EpidemiologyDermatology and Skin Diseases

Shared genetic origin of asthma, hay fever and eczema elucidates allergic disease biology

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23andMe Research Team, Ferreira, Manuel A, AAGC collaborators, BIOS consortium, LifeLines Cohort Study, Vonk, Judith M, Baurecht, Hansjörg, Marenholz, Ingo +62 more·2017·Nature Genetics

Abstract

Asthma, hay fever (or allergic rhinitis) and eczema (or atopic dermatitis) often coexist in the same individuals, partly because of a shared genetic origin. To identify shared risk variants, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS; n = 360,838) of a broad allergic disease phenotype that considers the presence of any one of these three diseases. We identified 136 independent risk variants (P < 3 × 10−8), including 73 not previously reported, which implicate 132 nearby genes in allergic disease pathophysiology. Disease-specific effects were detected for only six variants, confirming that most represent shared risk factors. Tissue-specific heritability and biological process enrichment analyses suggest that shared risk variants influence lymphocyte-mediated immunity. Six target genes provide an opportunity for drug repositioning, while for 36 genes CpG methylation was found to influence transcription independently of genetic effects. Asthma, hay fever and eczema partly coexist because they share many genetic risk variants that dysregulate the expression of immune-related genes.

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Crossref · 10.1038/ng.3985

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  • The main epigenetic studies in AD are related to the DNA methylation of two genes, NLRP2 (involved in macrophage activity) and PITPNM2 (related to neutrophils), both associated with smoking.

    “The main epigenetic studies in AD are related to the DNA methylation of two genes, NLRP2 (involved in macrophage activity) and PITPNM2 (related to neutrophils), both associated with smoking.”

    From Update on the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. (2024) · cites this paper as [41]

    The Abstract (page unavailable) reports a significant association between smoking and PITPNM2 methylation and describes PITPNM2 as potentially involved in neutrophil function. It says this was the only significant smoking–methylation association found; our copy does not support the claimed smoking association for NLRP2 or its proposed macrophage role, nor does it characterize these two genes as the focus of the main epigenetic studies in AD. (LLM, conf=0.90)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • The association of eczema herpeticum and serum IgE levels with methylation in the IL-4 and IL-13 genes has been found.

    “Also, the association of eczema herpeticum and serum IgE levels with methylation in the IL-4 and IL-13 genes.”

    From Update on the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis. (2024) · cites this paper as [41]

    The methylation analysis and Online Methods describe associations between CpG methylation and gene expression, then tests of five allergic-disease risk factors. Searches for eczema herpeticum, serum IgE, and IL-4/IL-13 methylation found no passage in our copy linking either outcome to methylation in those genes. The reported smoking–PITPNM2 association does not address the cited claim. (LLM, conf=0.76)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • A GWAS of allergic diseases points to a credible missense risk variant in FAM105A.

    “Although little is known about FAM105A function, GWAS of allergic diseases implicates a credible missense risk variant in this gene (Ferreira et al., 2017).”

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Authors
23andMe Research Team, Ferreira, M. A., collaborators, A., BIOS consortium, Study, L. C., Vonk, J. M., Baurecht, H., Marenholz, I., Tian, C., Hoffman, J. D., Helmer, Q., Tillander, A., Ullemar, V., van Dongen, J., Lu, Y., Rüschendorf, F., Esparza-Gordillo, J., Medway, C. W., Mountjoy, E., Burrows, K., Hummel, O., Grosche, S., Brumpton, B. M., Witte, J. S., Hottenga, J.-J., Willemsen, G., Zheng, J., Rodríguez, E., Hotze, M., Franke, A., Revez, J. A., Beesley, J., Matheson, M. C., Dharmage, S. C., Bain, L. M., Fritsche, L. G., Gabrielsen, M. E., Balliu, B., Nielsen, J. B., Zhou, W., Hveem, K., Langhammer, A., Holmen, O. L., Løset, M., Abecasis, G. R., Willer, C. J., Arnold, A., Homuth, G., Schmidt, C. O., Thompson, P. J., Martin, N. G., Duffy, D. L., Novak, N., Schulz, H., Karrasch, S., Gieger, C., Strauch, K., Melles, R. B., Hinds, D. A., Hübner, N., Weidinger, S., Magnusson, P. K. E., Jansen, R., Jorgenson, E., Lee, Y.-A., Boomsma, D. I., Almqvist, C., Karlsson, R., Koppelman, G. H., & Paternoster, L.
Affiliations
  • QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute (AU)
  • University Medical Center Groningen (NL)
  • University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (DE)
  • 23andMe (United States) (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
  • Karolinska Institutet (SE)
  • Max Delbrück Center (DE)
  • University of Bristol (GB)
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NO)
  • Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
  • The University of Melbourne (AU)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • Universitätsmedizin Greifswald (DE)
  • The University of Western Australia (AU)
  • University Hospital Bonn (DE)
  • Helmholtz Munich (DE)
  • Kaiser Permanente (US)
  • Karolinska University Hospital (SE)
Corresponding author
Ferreira, Manuel A
Venue
Nature Genetics
Published
2017-10-30
Volume
49
Issue
12
Pages
1752-1757
ISSN
  • 1061-4036 (ISSN-L)
  • 1546-1718
OpenAlex
W2765256236
Cited by
550
References
51
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 61 · 2023: 62 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 78 · 2019: 70 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 3
FWCI
37.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Genetics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Pure Amsterdam UMC (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Amsterdam UMC (VU Amsterdam) - Institutional Repository (publishedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Explore Bristol Research (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • MDC Repository (Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine) (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Minerva Access (University of Melbourne) (submittedVersion)
  • Site cant be reached (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • PuSH - Publication Server of Helmholtz Zentrum München (submittedVersion)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet
  • Wellcome Trust (102215)
  • QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
  • University of Bristol
  • Rijksuniversiteit Groningen
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (480-15-001)
  • Lundbeckfonden (R220-2016-1434)
  • Karolinska Institutet
  • Universitair Medisch Centrum Groningen
  • St. Olavs Hospital Universitetssykehuset i Trondheim
  • Medical Research Council (MR/J012165/1, MC_PC_12028)
  • National Cancer Institute (R25CA112355)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Asthma and respiratory diseases
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Associations and Epidemiology
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Dermatology and Skin Diseases
Keywords
asthma, allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, allergic diseases, genetic susceptibility loci, immune gene expression, lymphocyte-mediated immunity, drug repurposing, CpG methylation, transcriptional regulation
MeSH terms
Asthma, Eczema, Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal, Humans, Hypersensitivity, Phenotype, Risk Factors, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Genome-Wide Association Study

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