Endotoxin exposure, CD14 and wheeze among farmers: A gene - environment interaction

Lidwien A M Smit*, Dick Heederik, Gert Doekes, Gerard H. Koppelman, Renske W B Bottema, Dirkje S. Postma, Inge M. Wouters

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: Endotoxin-exposed workers are at an increased risk of non-atopic asthma and lung-function decline. Genetic variants may influence susceptibility to these effects. The objective of the present study was to assess whether the association between occupational endotoxin exposure and wheeze is modified by innate immunity gene variants. Methods: Twenty-four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CD14, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), TLR2, MD2 and MyD88 were genotyped in 408 agricultural workers with spirometry and questionnaire data on asthma symptoms available. Personal airborne endotoxin exposure levels were estimated in 249 exposure measurements. Results: The association between endotoxin exposure and wheeze was modified by three CD14 SNPs: -260 C/T (rs2569190), -1247 T/C (rs2569191) and -1721 A/G (rs2915863), and one MD2 SNP (rs10808798 T/C). In individuals carrying the CD14 and MD2 major allele variants, the prevalence of wheeze increased with increasing endotoxin concentration, whereas this was the opposite in minor allele homozygotes. Interaction between endotoxin exposure and genotype was statistically significant under the best-fitting recessive model (p=0.05 to 0.006). Correction for multiple comparisons resulted in marginally significant p values for interaction (p

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)826-831
Number of pages6
JournalOccupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume68
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2011
Externally publishedYes

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