The authors have no conflicts of interest. “
“Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein (ALOX5AP) plays a role in the 5-lipoxygenase (LO) pathway, which includes the LTC4, LTD4, LTE4 and LTB4. These leukotrienes are known causative factors of asthma, allergy, atopy and cardiovascular diseases. ALOX5AP lacks enzyme activity and acts by helping 5-LO function. In this study, healthy and general subjects who live in rural and urban areas of Korea were tested for the association of ALOX5AP polymorphisms with lung function. Lung function was also estimated by calculating the predicted values

for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1_%PRED) and the proportion of the forced vital capacity exhaled in the first second (FEV1/FVC_PRED). The linear regression was adjusted for residence area, gender, age, height and smoking status. The analysis revealed associations between FEV1 and the single-nucleotide polymorphism Saracatinib in vivo (SNP) rs9506352 and the haplotype TCAC (permuted P-value < 0.05). The linkage disequilibrium block that included the significant SNPs overlapped with SNPs that were revealed previously to associate with myocardial infarction and asthma and to affect lung function. This study is the first to demonstrate the association between lung function and ALOX5AP polymorphisms in a healthy and general population. Lung function is assessed for

two selleckchem purposes; epidemiologic and clinical evaluation of respiratory health. Two spirometric measures, namely forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and the proportion of the forced vital capacity (FVC) exhaled in the first second (FEV1/FVC), are used as indices of the degree of airflow obstruction [1]. A reduced FEV1/FVC means the presence of airflow obstruction that correlates with the diagnosis of asthma; moreover, FEV1 serves as an objective index of asthma severity

[2]. In addition, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC are important factors for the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and decision of the disease severity [3]. Lung function is affected by environmental and genetic factors. Ethnic differences in lung function also were demonstrated in the Asia–Pacific region [4]. In particular, A previous study has examined the association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in an asthma-susceptibility gene called disintegrin and metallo1protease 33 (ADAM33) and lung function in a general population. The results showed that ADAM33 SNPs are associated with lung function decline and can serve as risk factors for COPD [5]. Besides, polymorphisms in NFE2L2, KEAP1 and TIMP1 gene were associated with FEV1 in a general population of Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort [6, 7]. Obeidat et al. [8] found that association between FEV1 and rs3748312 in SERPINA1 gene on ever-smokers, although it was not passed a defined significance threshold.