Asthma is a complicated illness with a complex interaction of heritable and environmental variables. Understanding the processes through which genes and environment interact are one of the most difficult issues for pulmonary researchers. The purpose of this review is to offer an overview of the newly published literature on gene–environment (G E) interactions in asthma, with a specific emphasis on new methodological advancements in the post-genome-wide association studies (GWAS) period. A candidate-gene strategy was utilized in the most recent research on G E interaction in asthma. Candidate-gene studies including exposure to outdoor air pollution revealed substantial associations, mostly with GSTP1 gene variations, on asthma in children. G x E studies on passive and active smoking, including one genome-wide interaction analysis, discovered new genes associated with asthma susceptibility as well as a time-dependent effect of maternal smoking.
Other recent asthma research discovered associations between candidate genes and occupational allergen exposure, as well as numerous household exposures including endotoxin and gas cooking. New approaches for estimating G E interaction in GWAS have recently been presented, as has a pathway-based strategy for selecting an enriched gene-set for G E research.
