Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms of MD-1 gene with pediatric and adult asthma in the Taiwanese population.

MD-1 (myeloid differentiation 1; also known as Ly86, lymphocyte antigen 86), interacting with radioprotective 105, plays an important role in the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway. It has been suggested that MD-1 is involved in the development of inflammation and atopic diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the genetic association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of MD-1 and asthma in the Taiwanese population.Genotyping 34 SNPs in the MD-1 gene region was performed in a case-control study involving 281 children with asthma and 237 controls. A further 309 children and adults were genotyped for the SNP rs7740529 only, for validation of an identified association.In intron 1, we identified an SNP, rs7740529, which is associated with asthma in Taiwanese children (p=0.0358). Inclusion of a further 309 subjects increased the significance of the association (p=0.0093), and also demonstrated that rs7740529 is associated with adult asthma. The TT genotype confers risk of both pediatric and adult asthma.These results suggest that MD-1 could be a susceptible gene for asthma in the Taiwanese population.