Genomic Susceptibility Analysis for Atopy Disease Using Cord Blood DNA in a Small Cohort

Abstract

Atopic disease is caused by a complex combination of environmental factors and genetic factors, and studies on influence of exposure to various environmental factors on atopic diseases are continuously reported. However, the exact cause of atopic dermatitis is not yet known. Our study was conducted to analyse the association of SNPs with the development of atopic disease in a small cohort. Samples were collected from the Mothers' and Children's Environmental Health (MOCEH) study and 192 cord blood DNA samples were used to identify incidence of atopy due to influence of exposure to environmental factors. Genetic elements were analysed using a precision medicine research (PMR) array designed with various SNPs for personalized medicine. Case-control analysis of atopy disease revealed 253 significant variants (p<0.0001) and SNPs on five genes (CARD11, ZNF365, KIF3A, DMRTA1, and SFMBT1) were variants identified in previous atopic studies. These results are important to confirm the genetic mutation that may lead to the onset of foetal atopy due to maternal exposure to harmful environmental factors. Our results also suggest that a small-scale genome-wide association analysis is beneficial to confirm specific variants as direct factors in the development of atopy.