Author/Editor     Dragicevic, Sandra; Košnik, Mitja; Divac Rankov, Aleksandra; Rijavec, Matija; Milosevic, Katarina; Korošec, Peter; Skerbinjek-Kavalar, Maja; Nikolić, Aleksandra
Title     The variants in the 3' untranslated region of the matrix metalloproteinase 9 gene as modulators of treatment outcome in children with asthma
Type     članek
Vol. and No.     Letnik 196, št. 3
Publication year     2018
Volume     str. 297-303
ISSN     1432-1750 - Lung
Language     eng
Abstract     Purpose. The maintaining of asthma control is difficult due to high variability in response to therapy among patients. Since matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) is implicated in inflammation and remodeling of asthmatic airways, it could be associated with adequate response to asthma therapy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether variants in 3' end of the MMP9 gene are associated with clinical phenotype and responsiveness to treatment in children with asthma. Methods. The study included 127 asthmatic children from Slovenia. Variants in the 3' end of the MMP9 gene were analyzed by direct DNA sequencing and the obtained results were correlated with clinical parameters. Results. Two variants were detected, rs13925 and rs20544. For the variant rs20544, statistically significant difference in airway hyperresponsiveness (p = 0.011) and asthma control (p = 0.049) between genotypes was found. Patients with TT genotype had lower airway sensitivity, and after 12 months of treatment showed significant improvement in Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores compared to CC and CT genotype. For the variant rs13925, the association with lung function was observed. The carriers of A allele showed noticeable improvement of lung function after the first 6 months of treatment in comparison to the carriers of G allele (p = 0.046). Conclusion. The main finding of our study is the association of MMP9 genotypes rs20544 TT and rs13925 AA and AG with better asthma control, and indirectly better response to treatment. Based on these results, MMP9 deserves further research as a potential predictive biomarker for asthma.
Descriptors     Asthma
Biomarkers
Genotype
Matrix metalloproteinases
Matrix metalloproteinase 9
Pediatrics
Astma
Biološki označevalci
Genotip
Matriksne metaloproteinaze
Matriksna metaloproteinaza 9
Pediatrija
Genetics
Therapy
Genetika
Terapija
Keywords     3' UTR
children
treatment
otroci
zdravljenje